Say Something
by rain-shimmer
Summary: A Fairy Tail Laxus/Lucy fan fiction about self-discovery, love and heartbreak. The title is based off of the song "Say Something" By A Great Big World (feat. Christina Aguilera) which was my inspiration for this story. Rated M for future chapters (possible lemons, language). Reviews/comments/criticism are welcome! I hope you all like it! ***Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.
1. Chapter One

**A/N:**

_Hello readers! This is my first fanfiction and I hope you all like it as much as I enjoy writing it! Keep in mind that I am a part-timer worker and a full-time student, so I won't have a TON of time to write, but I will try my best to post a new chapter bi-weekly. I have a math course that I'm working on, and it finishes up June 17th. I will have a LOT more time to write once this is all over. Reviews/comments/criticism are welcome! Love 3_

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**Chapter One**

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"Jeez it's hot out", Lucy groaned as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, leaving two thick stands hanging loosely at either side of her face. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and fanned her face with both hands in a feeble attempt to cool off.

The soothing hum of cicadas was carried with the moist summer breeze around her.

"Pluhh pluhh!" Plue replied. He walked side by side with his master as they made their way down a quiet street in downtown Magnolia. His white face sagged and jiggled as if the setting sun were melting it.

Even at dusk the temperature in the summertime was uncomfortably warm.

"Well, that last job wasn't too bad, but I wish the reward had been bigger", Lucy put her hands behind her head and frowned. "I have to pay rent soon."

"_Pluhh!"_ Plue raised an eyebrow.

Lucy sweat dropped and scratched her cheek bashfully, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have spent what little earnings I made on jewelry, but it was on sale and it's totally cute!" She gently wiggled her wrist and admired the new glittery silver bracelet clipped around it.

"And of course your matching collar is adorable!" she chortled.

A thin silver collar sparkled around the little dog's neck. Plue cooed and began twirling as he waddled beside her.

"I'm glad you like it!"

They passed several craft tables and food stands as they continued down the street, but there were very few people out and about at this time of day. Everyone was cleaning up for the night or making preparations for new business opportunities tomorrow.

The blonde mage gazed up at the purple evening sky.

_It's nice just going out on my own_. _I don't feel as useless when I have to fend for myself. Normally Natsu, Gray or Erza are more than capable of handling things on their own, so I'm left on the sidelines to cheer them on or be rescued._

Lucy turned to look down at the little dog and smiled, "It was fun working _alone_ with my spirits for once."

"Pluhh! Pluhh!", Plue chortled, waving his arms about in approval.

Chuckling, she continued, "I can't imagine how annoyed Natsu and Happy must have been when they found out I left on a job without them!"

The blonde mage stroked Plue's drooping head, "Next time I'll pick a tougher job!" She enthusiastically thrust a fist in the air, "And a tougher job means a _bigger reward_!" Dollar signs bounced off of her crazed brown eyes.

By now, the street lights flickered on as the last remaining sunlight took refuge behind the surrounding mountains.

The little dog yawned, his eyes fluttering sleepily. Lucy put her arms out and stretched, exposing her toned midriff to the humidity that enveloped them. "Yeah, I'm tired too. You can go back now. I'll see you soon okay?"

"Pluhh!" Plue waved his master goodbye and disappeared into a cloud of rippling gold.

Lucy continued by her lonesome, turning a corner where the local buildings cast a great shadow on the route that would take her home. An eerie silence consumed the dark path that she followed, that is until her stomach began to growl obnoxiously. She snorted and rubbed her belly in reassurance.

_I guess I'm hungry. I'll make something yummy to eat when I get home._

Lucy's mind wandered to the fridge and pantry in her apartment and she scrunched her nose while sorting through her memory of their contents. Groaning, her head fell to her chest in both exasperation and disappointment.

"I forgot that I needed groceries! Stupid bracelet, seducing me with its irresistible sparkle…_" _She glared at her latest piece of jewelry before smacking her forehead in shame.

"Hey there!" a husky voice called, pulling the mage from her reverie.

Stopping in her tracks, she turned her head to see three suspicious looking men following behind her. Her body tensed and she quickly started walking again, this time at a swifter pace. The three men grunted at her dismissal and jogged to catch up to her.

She whipped around when she heard their hurried footsteps, "Please leave me alone."

"Hi little lady", a man with a dark five'o clock shadow winked at her as they approached.

A second man with a shaved head and dangerously green eyes spoke up, "You're a _babe_. What's your name?"

Lucy clenched her jaw in annoyance.

"Want to have a good time? Come with us", invited the third, tallest man. This one was lanky and wore a florescent orange bandana on his moppy-haired head. He held his hand out to her in a pathetic attempt to be chivalrous, but she refused.

"What do you _want_?" Lucy demanded. She started slowly walking backwards. The three thugs inched closer and closer, chuckling amongst themselves. "I don't have any money! So you can just—"

"We don't want your money, sweetheart", the bald man interrupted. "We just want to talk, that's all…"

Lucy's heart rate began to quicken when she realized that they were herding her into a dark alleyway in the corner of the block. "Sorry, but I try not to make a habit of mingling with perverts", she stated with a venomous glare.

The scruffy man scowled at her, "Just _who_ do you think you are, calling us perverts?" He pushed past his comrades and stepped even closer to her.

A visible shiver rolled up Lucy's spine, "Anyone who has to corner a girl to get her to talk to them is either a total loser or a pervert. So which one are you guys?" She hoped that her false confidence would discourage them from pursuing her, but they saw right through her façade.

"Oh really?" the bald man barked. He worked his way towards her, his two friends in tow. All three of them had unpleasant grins on their creepy faces.

"I like 'em feisty", the tall one drooled.

"Back off!" Lucy's brow furrowed and she reached down for her keys on instinct. "I'm _warning_ you!"

By now, the three men were a mere foot away from the celestial mage. She tried to back away from them but found her body pinned up against the alley wall.

Lucy thrust a key in their direction and braced herself, "Open, gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"

Nothing happened; not a flicker of golden celestial magic to be seen.

Gasping, a terrified Lucy was left with the realization that she had used up all of her magic at the job she took earlier in the day. She trembled and slouched over in shock.

_What now?_

Lucy began to panic, staring wide-eyed in silence at her pursuers. There was no way that she could fight off all three of them at once

"Was that supposed to scare us?" Bandana man scoffed. They all snickered sadistically.

Lucy didn't reply and stared at her feet in absolute fear.

"Naw, man. I think she was giving us the key to her apartment", the bald man suggested with a devious grin. Suddenly, his face was right beside her ear and he whispered to her, "You want to invite us into your bedroom, don't you?"

At this point Lucy's entire body was shaking and she whimpered helplessly. He grabbed a lock of her hair, bringing it to his nose and inhaled deeply. She grimaced and turned her head to the side in disgust.

"You know, I've always had a thing for blondes…" the bald man cooed, his malicious green eyes taking in all of her feminine curves.

Lucy shuddered. This was it, she was going to be assaulted and there was absolutely nothing that she could do to defend herself. Where was that flame-brain Natsu when she needed him?

"So you like blondes, huh?" a rumbling voice came from above them.

Lucy and the thugs all looked up at the rooftop behind her. There, in the light of the rising moon stood Laxus, his arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face. "What about _me_? You feel like 'talking' to me too?" His fur-trimmed jacket flapped gently in the night wind as sparks began crackling around his body.

Mr. Green eyes blinked in surprise and scowled. "Who are you, her boyfriend?"

Lucy's face flushed and Laxus cocked an eyebrow, "No, just a good samaritan. Now, I asked you a question."

Scruffy and bandana man started backing away from Lucy and Laxus, trembling as they did so. "We don't want any trouble!" they shouted in unison.

Laxus disregarded them and pressed on, glaring at the speechless bald man, _"Well?"_ The sparks grew brighter and wider around Laxus' well-built figure. "Answer me or _leave."_ The dragonslayer did not like to be ignored and he growled irritably.

Finally, baldy smirked up at Laxus. "I'm not going anywhere until I get what I came for…" he leaned into Lucy's neck for a succulent kiss, his one hand preparing to make a grab at her left breast.

**BOOM!**

In a split second, the three men were ensnared by lighting, all of them screaming and writhing in pain.

Lucy placed a hand to her chest and started to hyperventilate. Laxus had perfect timing, quite literally shocking them just milliseconds before the bald-headed thug could force himself on her.

Laxus appeared in front of her in a flash of light. "Are you alright?" he asked in monotone.

Without making eye contact, she caught her breath and nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

The two of them hadn't actually conversed before and she immediately felt awkward. When she first joined the guild, he was her enemy, but he redeemed himself and proved his loyalty to Fairy Tail during the Grand Magic Games when he avenged her teammates. It was during that week that they had communicated for the very first time, even if it was only a few words in passing.

Laxus looked down at her to verify that she was, in fact, unscathed. Lucy blushed furiously as she followed his eyes wander up and down her body.

"I'll take you home", said Laxus. He urged her to walk ahead of him and she obliged.

The thugs twitched in bizarre and unnatural positions on the ground as smoke arose from their comically charred bodies.

Lucy glared down at the bald one as they passed, "How do you like blondes _now_?" She swung her leg back and kicked him full-force in the crotch. He let out a girlish squeal and grabbed his private parts in agony.

"If you or your friends _ever_ come at me again, I'll be forced to reintroduce you to my foot." She smoothed out her skirt before heading out of the alley. "Assholes..."

Laxus smirked and followed behind her. 'She's got spunk, I'll give her that', he thought to himself.

When she turned the corner out of the alley, Lucy felt a muscular arm snake its way around her shoulders. "What the—" she started before Laxus interrupted, "Close your eyes, blondie."

His tone was assertive but not unkind. She looked up and to her right to see Laxus towering over her, his gaze fixed straight ahead of them. Lucy trembled at the warmth of her body pressed up against his and her face flickered crimson.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked nervously.

With a sigh, Laxus continued, "Do you want to go home or not?"

She glanced nervously from side to side.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you", he assured her, squeezing her shoulder ever so gently.

Lucy smiled weakly and nodded. She shut her eyes closed, but her ears painted a mental image of their changing surroundings. Hot white electricity crackled around the two, expanding and growing in intensity.

_What's happening? _

"You ready?", the dragonslayer mumbled.

She was about to reply when an overwhelming pressure forced itself on her tiny frame.

**BOOM!**

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Lucy dropped to her hands and knees and groaned. "W-What did you do?" She opened her eyes to look up at her rescuer.

He grinned mischievously and folded his arms across his chest. She curled her lip as an indication of her annoyance, so he gestured in front of her with the slight nod of his head. She followed his gaze to see that they were not ten feet from the doorstep of her apartment building.

_Wow. He really is as fast as lightning._

Lucy gasped and pulled herself up from the ground. "You're amazing", she breathed, looking over at him with eyes wide in surprise.

Laxus gave her a lecherous grin and winked, "In more ways that one."

"And you're disgusting", she stated flatly before shooting him dirty look and dusting herself off at the same time.

Shrugging, he chuckled, "That's a matter of opinion."

She rolled her eyes and started to walk away from him.

_How can he be so insensitive? I was almost assaulted tonight! The last thing I want to hear is another crude remark._

Lucy stopped in her tracks when she heard him clear his throat and continue speaking, "Sorry… Are you going to be okay?"

With her back still turned to him, Lucy cracked an appreciative smile, "I'll be fine."

_Laxus Dreyar is apologizing to me. That's something to scratch off my bucket list._

Suddenly, it occurred to her that she hadn't even thanked the man for rescuing her and she mentally scolded herself for being ignorant.

"Listen, Laxus… Thank you for—"

**BOOM!**

"—saving me…" she finished, whipping around just in time to see a flicker of white lightning shoot towards the heavens.

_Where'd he go? _

Two buildings over, the dragonslayer stood on a rooftop watching the astonished celestial mage stand alone for a moment before heading indoors to her apartment.

"Goodnight, blondie", he mumbled before turning to make his own way home.

**BOOM!**

Once she was inside her quaint little apartment, Lucy placed her spirit keys on the nightstand and tossed herself onto her bed. She stared at the ceiling and mentally reviewed recent events.

_What was Laxus doing there when I was attacked? And how did he know where I live? Was he following me too?_

She shook her head and scoffed at her own thoughts.

_Naw. Laxus can be a total creep, but I don't think he's the stalker-type. He probably overheard me complaining about all the B&amp;E's at my place..._

Lucy rolled her eyes and giggled at the all-to-familiar image of Natsu, Gray, Happy and Erza making themselves comfortable in _her_ living room before she herself had made it home. Shifting onto her side, the blonde absentmindedly played with her new bracelet, her brief smile fading away as she found her mind wandering back to the man that rescued her.

_Yeah, he must have figured it out somehow. He's a smart guy. Besides, what reason does he have to follow ME? He's not THAT desperate._

She continued to linger on thoughts about the last couple of hours. She knew that if Laxus hadn't shown up her day definitely could have ended a lot worse than it did. She would properly thank him tomorrow at the guild.

Suddenly, she shot up in her bed, a look of disgust plastered on her face. Lucy had just remembered…

_That bald-headed thug ruined my hair with his __**filthy pervert hands!**__ Ugh!_

Groaning, the celestial mage closed her eyes and tilted her head from side to side before forcing herself from the comfort of her bed to take a hot bath.

In the bathroom she started running the hot water and slipped out of her clothes, hopping on one foot at a time as she pulled off her black tights.

When she was completely nude, Lucy stared at herself in the mirror. She loosened her ponytail and let her thick blonde locks cascade over her bare shoulders. Smiling sweetly, the mage posed and winked at her reflection in renewed self-confidence.

_Desperate or not, Laxus would be crazy to overlook this blonde bombshell!_

Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see that the tub was full and turned off the tap before climbing into the steaming bathwater.

"First things, first", she muttered, grabbing her shampoo from the corner of the tub. She emptied half of the container into her palm and nearly scrubbed her scalp raw to make sure that she was no longer tainted.

When she was satisfied, she stretched herself out, propping both arms up on the edge of the tub. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "_Finally_, I can relax."

Suddenly, there was a knock at her front door followed by a muffled voice, "Luce! It's Natsu and Happy!"

She groaned and slumped deeper in the tub and blew bubbles in the water. "So much for relaxing…"


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N:**

_Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long to update! Let me know what you think by private messaging me and/or leaving me a review! Your insight gives me inspiration to write more! Or if you have a favorite part, let me know what you liked best! Love 3_

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**Chapter Two**

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Lucy pulled a hand down her face in exasperation. "Let yourselves in!" she called through the bathroom door. "I'll be out in a minute!"

"Aye!" Happy's muffled voice replied. She heard the front door click open and shut.

With a heavy sigh, she got up in the tub and pulled the drain plug before reaching over to grab a towel from the rack nearby.

_I think that this is the first time that they've actually used my front door. Wow. What's the special occasion?_

She chuckled to herself and climbed out of the tub. Even though they had interrupted her bath, Lucy had to admit that she was excited to see both Natsu and Happy. After all, she hadn't seen them in almost a week!

On the bathmat, the mage threw the towel over her head to tousle-dry her wet hair. The cotton fabric was draped over her face, leaving her momentarily blinded as she rustled her hands through the towel.

Suddenly a chill rolled up her spine as she felt the presence of someone else in the room. Whipping the towel off her head, Lucy glanced around the bathroom to find that she was alone.

Cocking an eyebrow, she shrugged and raised a leg up on the edge of the tub so that she could dry off properly. Her ears twitched when she heard a snicker from behind her and she looked down between her legs to see a familiar blue cat covering his mouth with both of his tiny paws.

"Happy", she mumbled dryly.

"Lucy is naaaaked!" he chortled.

Lucy put her leg back down and turned to see the bathroom door was wide open. "I didn't even hear the door open. How did you get in without me noticing?" At the moment, she was too stunned to be angry and she just stared inquisitively at the cat.

"It's because we're _ninjas_!" hissed Natsu from the other room. Before she could react, he had poked his head around the corner, his scarf wrapped around his face in ninja cosplay.

The apartment fell silent and the two mages blinked at each other for a moment before Lucy remembered that she was stark naked. "_Get out!"_ she screamed, grabbing hold of Happy's tail and blindly tossing him at Natsu's surprised face. Slamming the door behind her Lucy seethed, her face as red as a tomato.

_Stupid cat! Stupid Natsu! _

When she had calmed down and collected herself, Lucy wrapped the damp towel around her waist and breasts before opening the bathroom door once again. She glanced around the room and saw two shaking figures in a lump under the blankets on her bed.

"Stay there!" she barked irritably. "I'm getting changed, so unless you have a death wish I suggest that both of you remain where you are until I say otherwise."

"Aye sir!" Happy and Natsu whispered in unison, their voices trembling nervously.

Lucy shook her head and grabbed a fresh pair of underwear along with a plain tank top and her pajama shorts. When she was decent, she took a seat at the table in the middle of the room and cleared her throat, "You can come out now."

In a split second, both of her partners were at her knees, begging for forgiveness.

"We're sorry Lucy!" Happy cried, his eyes dramatically enlarged and glossed over with unshed tears.

_Nice. He's playing the 'cute' card. Tsk. _

"Why were you naked anyways?" Natsu asked bluntly.

Both Lucy and Happy flinched at his stupidity and lack of tact.

"I was taking a bath, but then some idiot and his cat decided to invade my privacy", Lucy replied through clenched teeth, her eyebrow twitching furiously.

_Is he really that clueless?_

"Ohhh", Natsu cooed. Happy sweat dropped and elbowed Natsu in the ribs, scolding him for his lack of apology.

"I mean, I'm so sorry Lucy! Please forgive us!" Natsu started bowing generously.

Lucy rolled her eyes and signalled for them to get up from the floor. "Yeah, yeah. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

The dragonslayer and the cat bounced up from the ground and Natsu went behind the chair to wrap an arm around the blonde.

"Sure thing, partner!" he replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Lucy turned her head to the side in embarrassment, her cheeks glowing pink.

"So… What's new?" Lucy wanted to change the subject.

"Glad you asked!" Natsu left Lucy and leapt on her bed. He propped his hands back behind his head and beamed. "We just got back from a job with Lisanna!"

Lucy's eyes widened. "Lisanna", she repeated in monotone.

"Yeah!" started Happy as he summoned his wings and flew over to the pink-haired mage. "We had a great time! We battled some dumb bad guys and totally kicked butt!"

"Lisanna was awesome. She used her takeover magic to transform into a giant hairy spider monster!" Natsu said. "The guys from the dark guild definitely weren't expecting that! And the looks on their faces…" He started to laugh, "I couldn't tell if they were horrified or just plain disgusted."

The blue cat giggled, "Or both!"

"Those guys were so lame. As soon as they realized that they'd be facing off against a giant bug, they all just turned tail and ran right into our trap", chimed the dragonslayer thrusting a fist into the air in triumph.

"Natsu burned them to a crisp!" Happy squealed excitedly. He held his paw out and high-fived Natsu.

"Well… I couldn't have done it without Lisanna", Natsu's voice drifted off and he stared hazily at the ceiling.

"I helped too!" scolded the cat, crossing his arms at his friend's lack of recognition.

Natsu looked over to Happy and smiled, gently placing a hand on his head, "Of course you did, little buddy."

Lucy smiled weakly and twiddled her thumbs as her two friends reminisced their most recent job, their voices and laughter fading into an unintelligible murmur as her thoughts wandered elsewhere.

_So much for them being annoyed about my solo mission. They didn't even notice that I left… _

After what seemed like an hour, Lucy heard her name amongst the chatter and looked up to see two pairs of eyes staring at her with concern.

"Are you alright?" Natsu asked. He was propped up on one arm and he tilted his head to the side in uncertainty.

"Y-yeah", the blonde stuttered. "I'm good. It must have been nice to go on a mission with Lisanna after not seeing her for two years."

"Yeah, it was great!" said Natsu, appreciative of Lucy's understanding.

"She's the best!" added Happy with a grin.

Lucy got up from the chair and started towards her bed, "How nice… Anyways, I'm pretty tired. I had a—"

"Say no more!" interrupted the dragonslayer as he got up from the bed. He picked up the cat and tucked him under his arm before opening the front door of Lucy's apartment to leave. "We'll head out now. Have a good night, Luce!" And as quickly as they had arrived, her two friends had left for the night.

Lucy turned and watched Natsu close the door behind them. "Goodnight…"

She climbed under the covers of her bed and snuggled into the blankets, her eyes glossy and emotionless.

_What just happened? Have I been replaced? _

She shook her head and closed her eyes.

_No, __**I**__ was the one that replaced Lisanna when everyone thought she was dead. And now that she's back from Edolas, she's occupied her rightful spot with Natsu._

Lucy sighed. She didn't know what to think right now. Was she was angry with Natsu for not noticing her absence for the last week? Or was she jealous that all he talked about tonight was Lisanna? Was she sad that she was clearly no longer needed by her teammates? Or was she happy that they were finally reunited with a beloved friend whom they thought had been lost forever?

"I don't know how I feel…" she whispered, a single tear rolling down her flushed cheek.

She was exhausted and groaned, knowing full well that she would be up all night overthinking her situation. And so, rolling onto her side, Lucy pulled the blankets over her head, cocooning herself in the warmth and comfort of her bed. Right now, all she could do was take a deep breath and hope for the sanctuary of sleep.

Lucy shifted in the mess of blankets on her bed, her new position exposing her porcelain face to a sliver of morning sunlight peeking through the curtains. She flinched before slowly blinking her eyes open in adjustment to the sun's brightness. As her senses came to, Lucy realized something. For all the busy thoughts that shrouded her mind last night, her feelings had somehow been spared with a dreamless sleep.

_No dreams are better than bad dreams, I guess. _

With a heavy sigh, the blonde shrugged off her blankets and got up from her bed with a conspicuous lack of enthusiasm. She sauntered towards the kitchen and opened the fridge to find that it was empty except for a bottle of ketchup and a _dangerously_ old casserole in a dish. Lucy exhaled loudly and didn't bother checking the cupboards for food; her rumbling stomach had reminded her that they too were empty.

_I forgot that I forgot to buy groceries yesterday…_

She chuckled dryly, a groggy state of indifference sweeping over her. She was too exhausted to care much about breakfast, confusing thoughts having left her restless all night. Still, the celestial mage stared blankly into the open fridge as if waiting patiently for food to magically appear.

_Food-make magic, now that would come in handy._

After a few unproductive minutes of staring off into space, the brisk chill of the open fridge brought her back to reality and Lucy gently pushed the door shut with her fingertips.

_Whatever, I'll just eat at the guild. _

She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face in a raw attempt to freshen up, but she somehow managed to come out looking worse for wear. The polished skin on her cheeks highlighted the dark circles under her eyes, and the bored, open-mouth expression on her face resembled that of a spritely sun-fish. Fortunately, and uncharacteristically, today Lucy didn't seem to care too much about how she looked.

Running a brush briskly through her tangled hair, Lucy wandered over to her dresser where she randomly rifled through the drawers with her free hand and yanked out the first few things she touched: a coral halter top and a pair of jean shorts.

When she was dressed, the blonde grabbed her precious keys from the nightstand, fastened them to her belt and gave it a good shake to be sure that they were secure. Slipping on a pair of black flip-flops, Lucy opened the front door to leave the apartment building.

Outside, Lucy peered up at the cloudless sky and raised both arms up to stretch. The sunshine beamed down on her face and she could feel the positive energy rekindle her weary spirit. At that moment Lucy decided that today she wouldn't bother stressing about her situation with Natsu. Everything would work itself out in the end.

"After all, it's another beautiful day!" she stated cheerfully.

Her ears perked up when she heard a nearby cat-call, "And a beautiful girl!"

Lucy looked to her right to see the familiar faces of nameless male friends who slowly passed her by on the nearby river in their gondola boat.

"Thanks you guys!" she called back, waving furiously in their direction as they faded off into the distance. She was well aware that she didn't look her best today, but she was thankful for their kind words anyways.

"Lucy?" a small voice queried from behind her.

"Hmm?" Lucy whipped around and met the gaze of an adorable blue-haired girl. "Wendy!" She could barely contain the squeak in her voice, "You scared me! Where did you come from?"

"Oh… Well, I just got here actually", the young dragonslayer replied with a crooked smile. She scratched the back of her head dubiously.

"No kidding. Because you definitely weren't there like ten seconds ago."

Lucy looked to the ground when she heard someone breathing heavily from below her. Carla was collapsed on the ground, her paws stretched behind her to brace what little body weight she had.

"And Carla too!" the celestial mage chortled. "Why are you so out of breath?"

Carla's eyes were closed and she replied between laboured breaths, "_Someone_…felt that it...was urgent…that she…see you…as quickly as…possible…"

Wendy sweat-dropped and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… Sorry about that Carla. But you know, I didn't ask you to carry me all the way. I wasn't in _that_ much of a hurry!"

Lucy looked from Wendy to Carla as the banter between them continued.

"Not in a hurry? We practically teleported here the moment you heard that Lucy was back in town!" The white cat huffed and folded her arms across her chest. And as if to state her annoyance, Carla stuck her nose in the air and turned her head away from Wendy.

"I'm sorry, okay? I admit, I was really excited to see Lucy again. And I shouldn't have pushed you so hard", the dragonslayer apologized.

The white Exceed nodded in faint approval, but continued to avoid eye contact with her companion.

When the silence between the two friends became more than uncomfortable, Lucy asked, "Why did you need to see me so badly?"

"I missed you of course!" said Wendy, throwing her arms around Lucy's waist and pulled her into a hug. "_We _missed you", the bluenette added quickly.

Carla huffed.

Smiling warmly, Lucy gladly reciprocated the hug. "I missed you guys too."

"Really?"

"You bet!" the celestial mage released her hold on the young girl who was now looking very relieved.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that!" Wendy sighed. "With both you and Natsu gone we were stuck with Erza and Gray for almost a week straight. It was a little…overwhelming."

Knowing all too well how "unique" her friends could be, Lucy laughed. "Is that so?"

"Teaming up with a short-tempered masochist and a relentless stripper caused some serious _anxiety_", Carla finally chirped in. She summoned her wings and hovered above the two mages. Placing a paw to her forehead the cat closed her eyes in exasperation, "I don't think I could have handled it much longer."

Wendy chuckled bashfully, "Don't get me wrong, I love those guys, but… To be honest, you really help to…um…balance the team out…"

"Oh?"

"What she's trying to say is that in a guild of shameless hooligans, you've been placed at mild end of the spectrum", Carla added nonchalantly.

"_Carla_!" Wendy scolded. "That was rude!"

The Exceed rolled her eyes but didn't reply.

Lucy stifled a laugh and reached out to pat Wendy's head affectionately, "It's okay, Wendy. I think I understand what you were getting at. And thanks?"

The two of them giggled before Wendy abruptly changed the subject, "Are you feeling okay, Lucy?"

"Yeah, why do ask?" Apparently the dark circles under her eyes had not gone unnoticed. Lucy manipulated her face into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. The last thing she wanted was to worry her friends.

Wendy wanted to inquire about Lucy's health, but had a difficult time choosing the right words to get the point across without sounding mean.

"You just look a little _rough_…today. That's all", the dragonslayer finally replied. She twiddled her thumbs anxiously as she hoped that she hadn't offended her friend.

"You look like you were hit by a magic mobile", Carla added, an emotionless expression on her face.

"_Carla!"_ Wendy hissed, clearly mortified by her companion's tactless reply.

The Exceed batted her eyes in a pitiful attempt to feign innocence, leaving Wendy thoroughly unimpressed. She was about to scold Carla further when they both paused mid-argument at the sound of Lucy gasping for air.

They looked to see Lucy hunched over and laughing hysterically. She had tears in her eyes, and had a genuinely amused expression on her face.

_Well, I think it's safe to say that Carla is unfamiliar with the concept of "sugar-coating" things. _

Wendy looked to Carla for an explanation, but the cat simply shrugged.

When she had collected herself, Lucy straightened up and wiped the corners of her eyes. "You two are great", she stated firmly. "Thanks for that. I really needed a good laugh."

"Um… You're welcome?" Wendy chuckled nervously. She used her hand to gesture in the direction of the guild. "Should we get going?"

"Sounds good!" replied the blonde, nodding in confirmation.

They started walking towards Fairy Tail with Carla following behind them. Wendy had been concerned about Lucy's general wellbeing, but after seeing her laugh and smile like she had, the blunette decided that she would not press further into the matter.

"I'm _starving!_" whined Lucy.


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N:**

_Hi readers! Once again, sorry for the late update. As promised... this chapter has some more Laxus in it! Hopefully you all enjoy. Feel free to leave comments and reviews and let me know what you think! Also, please keep checking back on this particular chapter, as I will probably be adding more to it later on. I'm going to try and keep most chapters at 2,500 word count for consistency (Oops, I have OCD!). If you'd like to me to PM you when I have added to this chapter, just PM me, and I'll be sure to keep you updated (since the site won't notify you guys when I add onto an already existing chapter). Lots of love 3_

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"Good morning, Mira!" Lucy chortled after she pushed open the large wooden doors to the guild hall.

Wendy waved at the platinum blonde barmaid and smiled. Carla made no gesture at all.

"Well, good morning ladies!" Mirajane replied. She beamed at them before turning away to tend to customers.

Right away, Lucy noticed that Laxus was sitting at the bar, munching away on his breakfast. His eyes were closed and he had his headphones on.

_Typical Laxus. Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever to thank him. _

She then looked over to the other side of the guild and noted her table of friends—Natsu, Lisanna, Happy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Elfmen—all talking amongst one another. Even from far away Lucy could see the look of disgust on Erza's face as she dramatically scolded Gray for his lack of clothing. Juvia's face was beet red, visible hearts bouncing out from her eyes.

The pretty blonde chuckled, "Wendy, Carla, you go ahead and join the others. I'll meet you there. I'm going to order some breakfast."

"Alright!" the bluenette replied as she skipped off to a distant table where Natsu and the others were seated.

Lucy planted herself on a stool near Laxus, but did not acknowledge him right away. She wanted to think about how to approach him and collect herself.

_This is awkward. I don't know where to begin. _

"What can I get for you, Lucy?" asked Mirajane cheerfully as she wandered over to her from behind the counter. The look of concern in Mira's eyes told Lucy's that her 'rough' appearance had raised some red flags, but the barmaid didn't bring it up and the blonde mage was grateful for her discretion.

"Hmm…" Lucy paused for a moment and looked over at Laxus just as he impaled a sausage with his fork. He was munching on his breakfast and now staring intently at the wall in front of him. She didn't even look to see what he was eating before she blurted out, "I'll have whatever he's having. And a chocolate-banana smoothie please."

"Oh, my!" the takeover mage gasped. "You must be _really_ hungry!"

The blonde chuckled, "Yes ma'am!"

"One number seven meal, coming right up!" said Mirajane.

Lucy inched her stool closer to Laxus in hopes of grabbing his attention, but his gaze remained fixed on the barren wall in front of him. Clearing her throat, Lucy angled her body towards him and crossed one leg over the other. She was all business today.

"Hey, Laxus?" started the celestial mage.

He made no attempt to respond and continued munching on some toast, seemingly oblivious to Lucy's advances. Her brow furrowed at his blatant ignorance.

She raised her voice so that he could hear through his headphones, "I'D LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU, LAXUS. CAN YOU PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR MUSIC?"

Laxus winced, and turned his head to look at her before sliding his headphones down to rest on his shoulder blades. "You know, shouting is very un-lady-like. You should try to be more soft-spoken and quiet because the whole 'loud and obnoxious' thing doesn't suit you at all."

_This guy obviously doesn't know me very well. I'm always shouting at Team Natsu, and for good reason! Most of the time it's because they've destroyed something, stripped, or nearly killed us all... Gotta to love friends, right?_

Lucy raised her eyebrow, "I was only shouting so that you could hear me over your music."

Laxus chuckled, "I can appreciate the effort, but I wasn't listening to music."

"Ohhh. So you're into self-help tapes, are you?" Lucy took a quick jab at his ego, but he swiftly deflected.

"Actually, I was enjoying the solitude of silence until you came and interrupted."

"Silence? So you're telling me that you're wearing those gigantic headphones and you're not even listening to music?" Lucy was a little confused.

"I _do_ use them to listen to music, just not when I'm at the guild."

"Then why are you even wearing them at all?" the celestial wizard scrutinized.

"Because usually when people see that someone is listening to music, they'll leave that person be." Laxus turned back to his plate, picking up his fork to continue eating breakfast only to be interrupted again.

"But you weren't listening to music", she stated flatly.

The dragonslayer sighed in exasperation. His patience was wearing thin. "I realize that. The point is… Normally, people don't bother other people when they appear to be pre-occupied."

"Okay…" Lucy could pretend to understand, even if she was talking to a crazy person.

Laxus rolled his eyes, but for some reason felt obligated to explain himself, "I wear headphones to make people think that I'm pre-occupied—more specifically, listening to music—and people, in turn, leave me alone."

"Ah, I see…"

_Yikes. This guy is the definition 'antisocial.' He should just slap a sticker on his forehead reading 'introvert.' It might save him some time and effort._

"I guess you don't like people very much", the celestial mage muttered.

"Not necessarily. I just prefer to keep to myself. Now, is there a _reason_ that you're bothering me, or can I go back to eating my breakfast?" Laxus was desperate to get back to his meal before it got cold.

_Nice evasive technique. _

"As a matter of fact, I _do_ have a reason", said Lucy, rubbing her elbow nervously.

Laxus looked at her expectantly, a blank expression written across his face.

"You ran off so quickly last night. I didn't get a chance to… thank you for rescuing me."

A faint smile played at the corners of the dragonslayer's mouth, "Sure thing. You're welcome."

Lucy smiled back, a started wiggling her toes in her flip-flops.

"So… Are we done here?"

"Oh! Yeah." She cleared her throat again, "Yes, that's all that I wanted to say."

"Here's your breakfast, Lucy!" Mirajane cut in. She placed a humongous plate of food on the bar counter in front of Lucy: eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes, waffles, hash browns and a croissant to top it off.

"Holy crap!" hissed the blonde in surprise. "Why is there so much?"

Mirajane sweat-dropped and smiled, "You _did_ order the number seven meal…" She set Lucy's smoothie beside the plate.

Chuckling nervously, Lucy replied, "Yes. Yes, I did…"

_Oops. Maybe I should have actually looked to see what Laxus was eating before I ordered the same thing for myself. _

She could hear Laxus snickering beside her.

"How can you eat _all_ of this?" she waved her hand in a whimsical motion over her hot plate of breakfast.

Laxus arched his thumb back, gesturing to himself as he stated matter-of-factly, "Dragonslayer."

_Right. How silly of me to ask. Natsu has just as insane an appetite, if not worse. Hmm, and so does Gajeel. Wendy, on the other hand… I don't think I've ever actually seen her eat. Weird. _

Lucy finally got up to leave, but quickly sat back down when a booming voice came from the second floor of the guild, "Gather around kids! I've got something important to say!"

It was master Makarov.

The busy rumbling of excited guild members quickly settled down. Lucy could see Natsu and Lisanna in the far corner together. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in close to him. Lisanna's face flushed pink and she was grinning from ear to ear.

_They both look so happy. I don't think I've ever seen Natsu smile like that before._

Makarov continued, "One year ago today, wizards from all over Fiore came together to fend off the dragons that passed through Zeref's Eclipse Gates. With teamwork and perseverance we were able to force the seven beasts back through the gates and into the past. If it were not for the cooperation of multiple guilds and the commitment of those guild members, it can be certain that we would not be here today."

The master had every guild members' undivided attention and he gazed down upon his 'children' lovingly.

"I want each of you to remember that the bonds that you have formed here in Fairy Tail and the friendships that you've made will always provide you with hope and the strength to be successful, whatever your endeavors may be. We are a family here, and I look forward to seeing you all continue to grow as wizards and proud members of Fairy Tail."

Lucy could see many guild-mates exchange glances with one another; each member beaming with pride.

"I am honored to be your guild master, and it is with great pleasure that I announce that tomorrow night the first annual Eclipse Gate anniversary party will take place under this very roof!" He pointed to the ceiling with a huge grin on his face.

The guild hall erupted with cheers and hoots as people celebrated the idea of a party.

"Time to get my drink on!" Cana hollered over the noise. She thrust a beer mug into the air, spilling its contents all over the wooden floors.

Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Mirajane shake her head in quiet disapproval. "With a guild as lively as ours, it feels like there's a party here every day…" Mira giggled before grabbing another glass mug to start polishing.

"No kidding. But you know, this _could_ be fun", an optimistic Lucy suggested.

Laxus snorted and from the corner of her eye Lucy saw him turn back to his breakfast which was probably stone cold by now. Suddenly, she felt a pang of guilt.

_The poor guy just wanted to eat his breakfast and now it's cold. I feel kind of feel bad for talking to him._

"Here's some money, Mira. Thanks for the grub", Lucy said, slapping a handful of jewels on the counter.

"You're welcome!" Mira sang.

Lucy grabbed her smoothie, got up from the stool and stepped over to Laxus who had placed his headphones back onto his ears.

Gently, she lifted one side away from his ear and whispered, "Sorry that your breakfast got cold. You can have mine. I wasn't _that _hungry anyways."

Laxus turned his head to look up at Lucy. She was only inches away from his face and she was smirking, "Was that quiet enough for you?"

The dragonslayer was caught completely off guard and his mouth parted slightly in surprise.

"_Enjoy_", the celestial mage finished before heading to her friends' table on the other side of the room.

"Well, well, _well_...", Laxus mumbled, a smile creeping out from behind his signature scowl. "What a sassy little thing."

* * *

When Lucy reached the table, she took a seat between Lisanna and Gray."So what was that all about?" Gray questioned. Juvia was glaring at Lucy from behind him, but Lucy wasn't bothered, having grown accustomed to this reaction from her.

"What?" Lucy sipped from her smoothie straw nonchalantly.

He raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Seriously?"

"You're a man, Lucy!" Elfman bellowed, raising his hand up for a high-five.

Lucy reciprocated before asking, "Okay… And why is that?"

Happy waddled over to her on the table and looked at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "For talking to Laxus. Duh."

"I don't think I've ever said a word to that guy since I joined Fairy Tail…" Elfman muttered.

Erza smiled warmly and smacked Lucy as a friendly gesture. "And here you are, two years later chatting up a storm with the guy."

Lisanna chuckled nervously, "Now that you mention it, I've only talked to him a couple of times myself. And even then, he only spoke to me in incomplete, mostly one-word sentences…"

"Same here", added Gray. "But his demeanor doesn't exactly scream 'talk to me', so I've never really put in an effort to converse with him."

Elfman snorted, "Yeah no kidding. I mean, if I had that much power I'd probably be off brooding in a corner too."

"Oh, come on!" Natsu berated. "Laxus is awesome! He looks tough and all, but he's a good guy! Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'don't judge a cover by the size of its book'?"

Everyone aside from Natsu sweat-dropped at his misconception.

"I believe the expression is, 'don't judge a book by its cover'", corrected Juvia flatly, her gaze fixed lovingly on Gray.

"Idiot", mumbled Gray as he shook his head.

"What did you say?" the fire dragonslayer growled. He got up from the table and walked over to the ice mage.

Gray yawned for effect and replied, "I said you're an idiot."

Flames erupted around Natsu and he clenched his fists, "Just who do you think you are, calling me dumb? At least I'm not some low-life half-naked popsicle wannabe!"

It was Gray's turn to get up from the table. He pressed his forehead against Natsu's and they glared menacingly at one another. "What did you call me? You're nothing but a dried up flaky piece of charcoal with no brains."

"Here we go again", sighed Carla, clearly not amused by this behaviour. Wendy giggled at the predictability of her friends. An argument between Natsu and Gray was a routine that she had become accustomed to after joining the Fairy Tail guild.

In a split second, Erza was beside them, smashing their heads against one another in a disciplinary manner. "That's enough!" she scolded, re-quipping a particularly large sword from her collection. She pointed the weapon at Natsu and Gray, her face hidden behind a shadow of rage. "We are trying to have a nice conversation here! One more peep out of you two, and I will cut you down. Is that understood?"

"Aye!" the rivals replied dryly. They were each rubbing their heads in a useless attempt to dull the pain that she had inflicted upon them.

"Good."

As soon as Erza walked back to the table, Juvia ran over to Gray and threw her arms around him. "Don't worry, darling! Love heals all wounds!", she cooed.

A visible shiver rolled up Gray's spine, which was bizarre considering that he was an ice wizard. "Thanks, but I'm fine", he replied, desperately prying her arms off of his top-naked body. "And besides that, I can take care of myself."

Juvia melted into a puddle on the floor and dribbled over to the corner, behind a pillar where she whimpered silently at another rejection.

Erza sat back down beside Elfman who trembled nervously at her return. "Now where were we?"

Lisanna spoke up, "Something about Laxus."

"Ahh, yes", the redhead replied, smiling. "So Lucy has made a new friend."

_Apparently she's back to her normal self, whatever that might be…_

"_Friends?"_ Lucy scoffed. "We're barely even acquaintances. I just thanked him for helping me last night, that's all."

Erza shot up from her seat once again and leapt across the table to stand next to Lucy. "Helping you?" she repeated, her voice and face both stern.

Lucy trembled slightly and leaned away from her friend, "Yeah?"

In the blink of an eye, the redhead was crouched down to whisper to Lucy, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment, "He 'helped you' at night? Lucy, I had no idea that you and Laxus were an thing!"

The celestial mage went pale for a moment before turning completely red.

Erza nudged Lucy's side playfully and winked, "You naughty girl!"

"It's not like that!" the blonde hissed, waving her arms around frantically.

"Why is she naughty?" Elfman asked naively. "Did she prank the Master or something?"

Lisanna and Wendy looked equally confused, having only heard the last bit of Erza and Lucy's conversation.

"No! I'm not going out with anyone and I didn't prank anyone! Jeez!" Lucy blurted.

"I was just teasing", snorted Erza mischievously as she wandered back to the other side of the table.

"So what really happened last night? How did Laxus save you?" asked Wendy.

Everyone at the table leaned in to hear the story that she was hoping that she wouldn't have to tell. They stared at her expectantly, each pair of eyes wide with curiosity.

Lucy sighed and finally gave in.

_I'm totally spineless when it comes to my friends._

* * *

When she had finished sharing the story of the previous night's encounter, all of the women gasped.

"Lucy, you shouldn't have been wandering around alone at night!" Erza scolded. "Especially when you knew your magic is depleted."

Lisanna nodded and placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder, "You need to be more careful."

Lucy smiled back at her friends, "I know, I know. I'm sorry. Obviously, I wasn't thinking." She was thankful to have such caring friends.

"You're so lucky that Laxus was there to save you", said Wendy. Her brow was furrowed in distress.

"What a man!" Elfman cut in. He was energetically pumping his fists into the air. "Rescuing a damsel in distress is the definition of manly!"

Lucy laughed at his enthusiasm. "Yeah…"

"What I want to know is what Laxus was doing in that area of town in the first place… Was he following you? Or was he just in the right place at the right time?" muttered Erza, placing an armored thumb to her chin in thought.

_Thank you! Nice to know that I'm not the only one overthinking things._

Happy, who was eating a fish, paused momentarily to speak, "He looooooves her."

_Oh God. This is getting old._

"Shut up, you stupid cat!" Lucy snarled.

Happy only giggled in response before he continued to munch on his fish.

"Whatever the reasons, we're just lucky to have you here with us today" said Lisanna, beaming.

Lucy smiled back, "Thanks."

"Indeed", added Erza, nodding. Suddenly her eyes lit up, "_The party_!"

They all looked at her in both surprise and confusion. "I need to pick out a dress! It has to be adorable, but not too frilly. Hmm, and a little bit sexy, I think!" Her face was glowing, and her eyes sparkled with passion.

"I already forgot about the party", laughed Wendy. "But apparently Erza hasn't."

"I must make preparations!" the redhead chimed. "I take my leave, but I'll be sure to stop by each of your houses to approve of your attire before the dance." She pointed to each of the girls at the table and Juvia. "Everyone. Must. Look. _Fantastic!" _Her last words were edgy and demanding.

And with that, Erza took off, disappearing in a random cloud of dust. Gray and Natsu relaxed their shoulders and heaved a sigh of relief while Juvia continued to snivel in the corner, a dark shadow looming behind her.

Lucy sipped her smoothie, "Well, I guess I better find something _acceptable_ to wear tomorrow night. I wouldn't want to disappoint_ that_..." She used her head to gesture in the general direction that Erza had ran off.

"What will happen if Erza doesn't like the dress I pick?" Wendy shivered, uncertain if she wanted to know the answer.

Lisanna chuckled nervously, "Don't worry, Wendy! Everything will be fine."

"Tsk. As if it wasn't enough that she scared the crap out people in battle-mode, but now she's got us shaking in our boots over a _dress_" said Lucy with a crooked smile. "That takes serious skill!"

The three women chuckled lightly amongst one another leaving the boys clueless and perplexed.


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N:**

_Hello readers! So to show my appreciation for those who voted in my poll and to all of you who've waited so patiently for the next chapter... Here is my longest chapter to date! Yaaay Eclipse Gate Party! Hope you all like. As always, pretty please read and review! Love 3_

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"Thanks for spotting me the extra cash, Wendy" Lucy started as the two women exited the storefront of a local dress shop. They were each carrying large bags of recently purchased merchandise in either of their hands. "I promise that I'll pay you back just as soon as I can!"

Wendy smiled, "No problem, Lucy. This is my treat! Save what you have for groceries. Anyways, the last job that I took with Erza and Gray paid really well, so I'm not concerned."

Lucy sweat-dropped, "I feel so stupid for spending money on jewelry."

The dragonslayer looked over and admired the sparkly silver bracelet on Lucy's wrist, "Don't worry about it! I'd have done the same thing if I had seen it."

"Yeah?" Lucy followed Wendy's gaze to her bracelet and suddenly had an idea. "Hold on a sec…" she stopped in her tracks and placed her bags on the cobblestone walkway.

Wendy tilted her head in curiosity, "What's wrong?"

Lucy opened the clasp of the bracelet and removed it from her wrist before handing it over to Wendy, "I want you to have this."

Wendy gasped and started to get flustered, "Oh no! I couldn't possibly. It's yours, Lucy! You don't need to give it to me!"

The blonde chuckled and placed a hand on the dragonslayer's shoulder to calm her. "But I _want_ to give it to you. It's the least I can do."

The blunette was speechless as her friend removed the bags from her left hand and clipped the jewelry around her tiny wrist.

"Look at that! It's perfect, and it looks _way_ better on you than it does on me."

Lucy grinned, while Wendy stared down at her new accessory. "It's lovely… Are you sure that this is okay?"

"Of course I am! Besides, it doesn't go with my new dress", replied the blonde.

Wendy blushed slightly, and then looked up to meet Lucy's eyes. "Thanks so much!" She threw her arms around the celestial wizard, unintentionally smacking Lucy's back with the remaining bags in hand.

"Oh my gosh, I am _so_ sorry!" Mortified, Wendy let go of Lucy and covered her mouth with both hands.

Lucy laughed out loud, "It's fine." Picking up her own bags, she continued, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask... Where's Carla? You two are usually attached at the hip."

"Yeah... We had an argument last night. She said she needed some space."

Frowning, Lucy asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what was the argument about?"

Wendy sighed, "I called her a sour puss."

Silence filled the air for a moment or two until Lucy spoke, "That's_ it_?"

The dragonslayer nodded, "She's sensitive."

"I see... Well, we'd better go and get changed!" the blonde replied wearily. "_She_ will be meeting us at your room soon."

_Erza better like the dresses we picked out!_

Shivering, the dragonslayer nodded before the two of them headed towards Fairy Hills dormitories to change for the party.

* * *

"All done!" Wendy chortled.

She spun Lucy around to face the full-length mirror in her room. Lucy looked at her reflection in the mirror to see a woman that she did not recognize. Her hair was pulled to the side in a pretty braid. She was wearing a beautiful navy blue satin dress with a flowy hemline that stopped above her knees in length. The sweetheart neckline wrapped into a neat pattern that very noticeably accentuated her feminine assets. The underlayer of the dress was sprinkled with tiny flecks of golden sparkles that shimmered through the sheer top layer. And to top it all off she was wearing sexy three-inch black heels that had a thick strip of gold beads running up the centre of the foot to where it met the ankle support.

Wendy looked up at Lucy, her eyes twinkling with admiration. "You look amazing, Lucy!"

The blonde, stroked the braid briefly and turned her head from side to side to admire her hair from different angles. "Thank you! I couldn't have pulled this off without your help though."

Lucy strapped her keys to her thigh with a garter-like belt and turned around to see her friend in a knee-length teal spaghetti-strap dress. The dress was decorated with pretty silver beading and a large black bow was wrapped neatly around her waist. Her long blue hair was tied up in a high-ponytail, and her new silver bracelet sparkled on her left wrist, accenting the silver on her dress perfectly.

"Aww, Wendy. You're adorable!"

"You think so?" Wendy asked. She was biting her lip anxiously. "I just hope Erza likes my outfit."

"I wouldn't worry. You look great!"

Wendy nodded, but remained uncertain.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Both Wendy and Lucy squeaked in surprise.

"Wendy, it's Erza. Are you ready to go?" a stern voice called through the door.

"Umm, yes! Just a minute!" Wendy stuttered. She scrambled to the door, her lips wavering in anxiety, before opening it to see quite a sight.

In the doorway stood a beautiful red-headed woman adorning a sleek plum-coloured dress. It was long and very sexy with a high slit at the side, revealing a tasteful amount of leg.

"Ohhh" Wendy cooed, clearly impressed by her older friend's appearance.

Erza smiled proudly and then she noticed that Wendy was not alone. "Lucy, I didn't expect to see you here. Excellent, I suppose now I can kill two birds with one stone."

"K-kill?" Wendy stammered, visibly shaken by Erza's choice of words.

"Yes."

"_Wow_", Lucy managed to say. "You're gorgeous!"

Erza's hair was down and wavy, shimmering beads mingling with the fancy ruching at her bustline. She angled her body so that they could see the back of her dress which was just as stunning as the front. The silver beading reached around to form a unique strapping pattern that revealed most of her toned back.

"You have amazing taste, Erza!" said the dragonslayer, her eyes sparking again.

"Thank you, Wendy. I admit that that at one point I felt hopeless and lost in my quest to find 'the one' dress, but I am pleased with the final results."

"No doubt!" added Lucy. Her eyes widened before a sudden look of mischief crossed her face. She crept up beside Erza and nudged her in the side with her elbow. "Jellal wouldn't happen to be a guest at the party, would he?"

The red-head's face lit up like a candle, heat waves simmering from her body. "Uhh. Hmm. Perhaps", she finally stammered.

"I thought so", giggled the blonde. "So are we ready to go?" She twirled around more than enthusiastically.

Erza's face straightened into one of grave seriousness. Lucy and Wendy glanced at one another as they anxiously awaited Titania's verdict. Then Erza thrust an arm towards them, causing both the girls to flinch. When nothing happened, Lucy opened her eyes to see that the red-head had given them the thumbs up. The dragonslayer and the celestial mage relaxed their shoulders and sighed in relief.

"Tsk, I can't believe you two. Did you really think that I'd strike you?" Erza asked, a little saddened. "You hardly deserve punishment. You both look fantastic!" She smiled at them and nodded in approval.

"Did you say punishment, Princess?" Virgo flickered into sight, bowing at her master, and giving Erza a clear view of the maid's panties. Titania coughed, cheeks reddened and looked away.

"No, Virgo,_ I_ did not mention punishment… You can go back now…" Lucy sighed.

"As you wish, Princess. But before I go…" Virgo snapped her fingers and a beautiful golden star-shaped pin appeared from thin-air. "This will go perfect with your new look…" She leaned towards the celestial mage and placed the pin in her hair on the opposite side of the braid.

"Thank you, Virgo", said Lucy kindly.

"You are very welcome", Virgo replied. She bowed at her master again, "Until next time, Princess!" And just as quickly as she had appeared, the maid vanished in a ripple of gold.

"Your spirits have an interesting choice in underwear, Lucy. Do they model their style after you?" Erza asked, cheeks aglow.

Lucy gasped, "What! No! I don't have any say in what they wear. Virgo picks out her own costumes!"

Wendy was blushing furiously at the conversation topic while Erza had an inspired twinkle in her eye. She placed a finger to her chin, "Really? Too bad. The next time you call on Virgo, remind me to ask her where she shops."

Lucy sweat-dropped.

_In the spirit world…_

She wasn't about to argue with the terrifying Titania and conceded willingly, "Yeah, sure thing."

"Alright then. To the party, ladies!" Erza hollered, turning heel to head out of the building and towards the guild.

With Erza's back to them, Wendy and Lucy mock-saluted and replied in unison, "Yes, m'am!"

* * *

At the front entrance of the guild, Erza cleared her throat and spoke, "Are you ready?"

"For what?" Wendy asked, turning to Lucy who shrugged in reply.

Erza did not respond for she was overzealously forcing the doors open with impressive strength.

**BANG!**

The guild fell silent as the large entrance doors slammed against the guild walls.

"You can all relax now", Erza's voice was raised and she addressed everyone in the guild hall. "The fun has _finally_ arrived!"

And with that, the guild erupted in cheers and hollers, a blatant signal that the party had only begun.

"Oh jeez…" Lucy face-palmed and sighed in embarrassment.

Wendy who was also a little embarrassed, giggled, "Well, I was hoping to make a subtle entrance, but I guess that's not really Erza's style."

_Note to self: The next time there's a party, don't come with Erza._

The red-headed beauty quickly wandered away from her friends to converse with others at the party.

The blunette poked at Lucy's side to get her attention, "Lucy, I'm going to go find Carla. I should probably apologize to her... You'll be okay on your own, right?"

"Of course! Go for it!"

Wendy waved goodbye before disappearing in the crowd.

Lucy looked around the room to see the familiar faces of her own guild mates as well as those from other guilds in Fiore. She spotted Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth, Ichiya and the tri-men from Blue Begasus, several members from Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale and a few others from various guilds that helped in the Eclipse Gate battle. She even saw Jellal off in a corner waiting for someone special to meet up with him.

"You look amazing, Lucy!" Levy squealed, sprinting towards her friend seemingly out of nowhere. She grabbed Lucy's hands in her own and jumped up and down in excitement. The blonde flushed a little at the compliment, but before she could thank her, Levy continued. "Your dress is gorgeous. It almost looks like you're wearing the night sky!"

Lucy chuckled at her corny statement, "Thanks. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to it in the store." She pointed to herself, "Being a celestial mage and all."

They smiled at one another. "You look great too, Levy! I'm loving the green!"

The sold script mage grabbed the hem of her dress and tilted her head to the side, "What, _this_ old thing?"

Lucy was about to reply when Levy snuck up beside her to whisper in her ear, "I actually spent like ten hours looking for a dress like this! Do you think Gajeel will like it?"

"If he doesn't, he's crazy!" the blonde replied in whisper. "You look hot!"

Levy giggled, "Thanks! I'm going to see if I can't drag him on the dance floor for a few songs. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!"

Secretly, Lucy couldn't imagine the iron dragonlayer had any sort of dancing abilities, but she was not one to criticize. Her father spent a lot of money on dance lessons for Lucy, because a "proper lady must know how to waltz." But his efforts were for not, for Lucy was as clumsy as a newborn fawn.

She decided to take a seat at one of the tables bordering the dance floor, as the song "We are Stars" by Vegas to Virginia started to play. She rested her chin on her hand as she watched her friends and acquaintances having a great time dancing. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a bright patch of pink.

_Natsu._

He was being twirled around in a crazy supernatural motion by his dance partner, Lisanna. There was a look of terror written across his face and Lucy couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. She noticed that Lisanna had dressed to impress, adorning a soft pink lace off-the shoulder cocktail dress. The take-over mage was positively beaming, and Lucy was happy for her. Natsu was good guy, and they had history together that clearly had not wavered over time.

_She looks so cute! It looks like she put in a lot of effort to grab Natsu's attention. If he doesn't compliment her at least once tonight, then he's an idiot._

Lucy shifted her weight from one side to the other and pondered further.

_Well, he **is** an idiot, but if he's **that** oblivious to her feelings, then he's nothing but a shameless moron._

* * *

On the other side of the building, Laxus sat at the bar, drinking some no-name beer. He hadn't dressed up particularly fancy, but his grandfather insisted that he at least make an effort. He wore a long-sleeve burgundy button up shirt that he kept untucked from his black neutral pants. His only accessory was a simple black tie. He had his back turned to the bar as he watched his guildmates act out foolishly on the dance floor.

"It looks like the party is a success so far", Mirajane stated from behind the bar counter. She had her bangs down so they brushed loosely across her forehead, and she was wearing a tight white cocktail dress for the occasion.

"Yeah, I guess so", replied Laxus in monotone. His face unchanged, he turned and placed his empty beer mug on the counter, "I'll have another one. Please."

The takeover mage grabbed his mug to refill it when she noticed Lucy at a table in the corner.

Mira sighed, "You know, you've already had six drinks, Laxus. Why don't you go 'bust a move' on the dancefloor with everyone else?"

The lightening dragonslayer snorted, and turned to look at Mira, "Yeah, that's _not_ going to happen."

Mirajane frowned, slamming the refilled mug onto the counter. "You _sure_ about that?"

Laxus grabbed the beer, chugged it down down in one go and nodded in reply. He placed the empty mug back on the counter, "Another one."

Mira's eyebrow twitched in irritation, the rest of her face still as pleasant as ever, "I don't think so."

Surprised at her reaction, the blonde turned around again to face her. She was smiling sweetly, "Look at poor Lucy over there. She's all alone. You should ask her to dance!"

It was Laxus' turn to be annoyed. "I don't dance", he replied curtly, turning away from her again.

A sudden chill rolled up his spine and he glanced over his shoulder to see Mira with a dark shadow looming over her. He could no longer see her innocent face amongst the darkness that enveloped her.

"You sure about that?" she hissed.

With his hands up in surrender, Laxus sighed, "_Fine_! I'll do it…"

Mira grinned, the darkness vanishing around her. "Wonderful! Have fun!"

Laxus rolled his eyes and dragged himself from the bar stool as she giggled mischeviously from behind him.

* * *

Normally Lucy enjoyed people-watching, but tonight she felt a little lonely and left out. The only person who had asked her to dance was a self-summoned Loke and since she didn't feel like being groped tonight, the blonde respectfully declined. She shook her head disapprovingly when she saw him slink away to dance with a scantily clad Jenny from Blue Pegasus.

_That fickle lion. Oh well, at least one of us is enjoying themselves._

Whilst sitting at the table she had seen nearly everyone she knew on the dance floor at one point or another. She had watched Juvia follow Gray from one side of the guild to the other as he tried to escape her desperate grasp. She had watched Erza and Jellal share a tender moment, wrapped in each others' arms whilst swaying to a romantic slow song. She had even seen Levy shaking her tail on the dance floor with a less-than-impressed Gajeel who was clearly only there as a favour to her.

Lucy sighed and dropped her head onto her forearms that rested on the table.

"Good evening", a voice interrupted.

She looked up to see Laxus standing beside her and raised an eyebrow, "Laxus, I hardly recognized you without your headphones on."

"Yeah, well… It wasn't by choice, trust me. Gramps can be a very convincing guy. He kept barking something about casual dress being unsportsman-like."

"Oh yeah?"

The dragonslayer coughed and decided to get to the point, "So, it must be pretty boring sitting here and watching people."

Lucy replied dryly, "_You_ should know. Weren't you doing the exact same thing at the bar a minute ago?"

Laxus couldn't help but smirk a little upon learning that even from across the room, he hadn't gone unnoticed by her.

Shrugging, he continued, "I'm fine with just watching, but I figured that you're the kind of person who would want to get in on the action, so I decided to come over here and graciously ask you to dance."

Lucy straightened up in her seat and shot him a look of skepticism, "Is that so?"

Making no eye contact, the dragonslayer crossed his arms boredly and continued, "So do you want to dance or not?"

A small smile formed at the corners of her mouth, "Sure. I guess I owe you a favour."

She got up from her seat and headed towards the dance floor, leaving Laxus following behind her in shock and awe at her inexplicable audacity.

_This should be interesting… _

When they were in the crowd of rambunctious guild members, Lucy started to panic. She had no idea how to dance and before she could come up with some kind of party-dance technique, a slow song came on.

_Super! This isn't going to be weird or anything._

Laxus had made his way over to her from the table and was now standing not a foot away from her in distance.

"Umm…" she mumbled, uncertain of what to do with her hands or her feet for that matter.

Rolling his eyes, Laxus grabbed her arms and placed them limply on his shoulders. Lucy's cheeks flushed when he put his own hands on her slim waist.

_His hands are so warm. Wait, what?_

"I should warn you", started Lucy nervously. "I'm a terrible dancer in bare feet and tonight I'm wearing heels... So I can't guarantee your safety on the dance floor."

Laxus grinned at her, "I'm no expert myself. Just try and follow my lead."

Lucy nodded and stared at the floor to watch her steps carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was step on a dragonslayer's foot, least of all Laxus'.

They awkwardly started to dance, the awkward part being Lucy, because Laxus appeared to have grossly understated his dancing abilities.

_What a liar! I never would have pegged this guy as a skillful dancer. Guess there's more to him than attitude and an abundance of scowls._

The pair received surprised stares from people around them, but only Laxus seemed to notice. He conjured his signature smirk before turning to look down at his partner. She was struggling to follow his steps and would not tear her gaze from the floor.

Unbeknownst to her, while she was busy staring at the floor, Laxus was soaking up her appearance entirely. How could he not? She looked stunning! He knew that she was an attractive girl, but somehow tonight she was different. If he was being honest, he'd admit that on more than one occasion he admired her curvaceous figure, but it was impossible to ignore the a form-fitting dress that she had on!

He smiled to himself when he noticed the look of pure concentration on Lucy's face as she continued to focus on the movement of her feet.

"You're thinking too much", he muttered, his face stiffening again.

Lucy finally looked up to meet eyes with his, "How so?"

"You've been so focused on your feet that I feel like I've been dancing with a faceless doll for the last few minutes."

The celestial mage sighed, "Sorry."

"I asked you to dance because I thought you would enjoy it. But you're as tense as a vulcan in heat", Laxus chuckled.

Lucy's jaw dropped at this shameful comment, but before she could reply he burst into a fit of booming laughter, "I'm kidding! Seriously, though, you're really tense. Relax your shoulders and try not to make that face while we're dancing."

"What face?" Lucy glared at him.

"You know, the face that makes you look constipated."

_What an ass!_

Curling her lip in disgust, Lucy turned her head away from him.

Laxus chuckled again, "Lighten up, Blondie. Try to have some fun."

"Yeah."

As they made their way across the dance floor, Lucy saw Mirajane waving spastically in her direction. She looked over her shoulder, and looked back to quickly realize that she was indeed waving at her. Lucy nodded her head slightly in reply.

She looked up at her much taller dance partner, "So Mira put you up to this, hmm?"

Laxus half-laughed and avoided eye contact, a look of guilt written across his chiseled face, "What makes you say that?"

Shaking her head, the celestial mage snorted, "That would be a yes."

She would make a point of scolding the take-over mage later on for putting her in such an uncalled for situation with Laxus.

At that moment, the song ended, and she loosened her grip on his shoulders.

"Well, thanks for the dance", she mumbled, tearing herself away from him. She was about to walk away, when she felt a tug on her hand. She turned her head to see that Laxus had grabbed her hand and he started to pull her gently towards him.

"Come on, one more dance couldn't hurt", he said with a surprisingly sincere smile.

Lucy squinted at him suspiciously, "Sure."

Accepting his request, she positioned her hands back onto his large, muscular shoulders while he grabbed her waist.

The next song started to play, "Say Something" by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera.

This time, she would pointedly look anywhere but her feet. They started to move amongst the crowd, swaying slowly from place to place.

Lucy saw Natsu and Lisanna dancing nearby. She couldn't help but beam when she saw Lisanna resting her head on his shoulder. The fire dragonslayer had his head resting on hers, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

_I don't know why I was so confused the other night. I know how I feel about Natsu. I love him, he's my best friend. He's not the kind of guy that would replace anyone. And I know that I'll always be important to him. But h__is heart belongs to Lisanna. I can accept that with a smile because I want him to be happy. I want **them** to be happy. I'll meet a nice guy some day, but for now, all I can do is root for the people that I care about._

Smiling, she turned to her other side to see Erza and Jellal in a similar position as Lisanna and Natsu. And she almost burst out laughing when she noticed Juvia draping her liquid body around a very disturbed looking Gray. He was pidgeon-toed and possibly the most awkward thing she had ever seen as he tried to peel her off of his half-naked body. On the other side of the guild Elfman and Evergreen were trying to be subtle and dance in the shadows, but everyone knew that they were there together.

_I love this guild, and everyone in it. They're crazy and weird and sometimes super embarrassing, but they're my family and I wouldn't have it any other way. I guess I'm Lucky Lucy Heartfilia after all._

Laxus noticed that Lucy's mind was adrift and a devious idea crossed his own mind. He hardened his grip on Lucy's waist and pulled her even closer to him, their bodies nearly touching.

"Woah! Hey, now! Don't get any funny ideas, _blondie!_", the celestial mage scolded. She pretended to act brave, when in reality she was shaking from head to toe on the inside. She had never been _this_ close to a man before.

Laxus winked at her, "Don't worry, you're not my type. I just wanted to spice things up a bit."

She scowled at him, a little put off by how blunt he was.

_Not his type? Well, guess what pal! You're not **my** type!_

Lucy plastered on a fake smile, "Whatever you say. But if your hands move _anywhere_ but my waist, I'll have to Lucy kick you right where it counts."

The dragonslayer let out another booming laugh, "Okay, okay."

For the rest of the song, the two of them danced in silence, Lucy staring straight ahead of her at Laxus broad chest. She wanted to prove to him that she could dance without looking 'constipated.' Then, at one point, she decided to look up at him and get a feel for what he was thinking. His gaze was distant and thoughtful, his hazy blue eyes captivating her very being.

_When he keeps his mouth shut, he's actually a good looking guy. _

In truth, Lucy had never had the nerve to look him in the eye before. He was intimidating and didn't have the greatest reputation in Fairy Tail, but he had since redeemed himself at the Grand Magic Games a year ago.

However, right now she was swept away by his handsome features, and hardly noticed when he caught her staring at him.

He cleared his throat, "Like what you see?"

His voice pulled her from her reverie and she started blushing furiously, "Not really. I was just thinking that it must be exhausting to pretend to look so miserable all the time."

_Nice save, Lucy!_

Laxus blinked at her, wide eyed, "I'm not miserable. This is just how my face looks normally."

Lucy snorted, "That's unfortunate." She grinned inside when she saw his mouth open slightly in surprise.

At that moment, the song ended.

"It was nice chatting with you, Laxus. I'm going to get a drink!" she grabbed his hands from her waist and tossed them loosely at his sides. As Lucy skipped away from him with a little extra bounce in her step, she shouted, "Maybe if you behave yourself, I'll let you dance with me again some time!"

She stuck her tongue out at him before heading to the bar.

Laxus stood alone on the dance floor. He closed his mouth into a cheeky grin, "I should be so lucky."

Though he would never admit it, the lightning dragonslayer was just a little bit impressed with her. In fact, he was starting to look forward to their next encounter.

* * *

**A/N:**

_Oh, and if anyone is interested in checking out what Erza/Lucy/Wendy's dresses look like, check out the link in my profile!_


	5. Chapter Five

_**A/N:**_

_Hi guys! So sorry for the super late update. I've had a hard month both emotionally and physically and so had little time to actually write. Okay, so in this chapter I'm going to introduce a character that does NOT make an appearance in the Fairy Tail manga, but DOES make an appearance in the anime. If you're unfamiliar with this character or you'd like to get a better idea as to whom he is and/or looks like, his name is Dan Straight and there is a link to his information in my profile (just copy and paste). Any reviews or comments are very much appreciated! I'd love to hear what you all think. Thanks for your patience. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Thanks_ so_ much for that", Lucy groaned sarcastically at Mira as she took a seat at the bar.

Mirajane glanced over her shoulder from the tap where she was filling a customer's mug and fluttered her eyelashes to feign innocence, "Whatever do you mean, Lucy?"

The blonde stared at take-over mage and raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I think you know _exactly_ what I mean."

"Hmm?" Mirajane smiled deviously and shrugged.

"You really _are_ a terrifying demon", the celestial mage started. She propped her elbow up onto the counter and rested her head on her palm. "I'm not sure what you said or did, but I know that you managed to frighten a fearless lightning dragon slayer into dancing with a klutz like me."

While continuing to smile, the platinum blonde held her hand up to signal her quick return before she went off to deliver the freshly filled beer mug to its owner.

Mira came back and poured Lucy some non-alcoholic punch as per her usual request. The blonde thanked the bar maid before she continued to rant, "Seriously though, what could I have possibly done to have deserved such a cruel punishment?"

"Don't be silly!" Mirajane giggled. "You had fun, admit it! Besides, you two made quite a lovely pair! He looks so handsome and you're gorgeous!" She nudged at Lucy with her elbow. "I saw how he was looking at you, all starry-eyed and whatnot."

Lucy closed her eyes in exasperation and took a sip from her glass, "I could care less."

Frowning, Mira corked an open a wine bottle and returned it to the wine cooler behind her.

"Anyways", Lucy started, her eyes flickering open irritably. "_I'm not his type_." She mimicked Laxus' words with the most unflattering, unintelligent voice that she could muster.

"Did he really say that?" the take-over mage asked.

"He sure did." The blonde sipped from her glass and crossed her legs.

Mirajane grabbed a damp cloth from the nearby sink and started wiping the counters with it, "I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm sure he was just teasing you!"

Lucy shrugged indifferently.

"Laxus loves to get a rise out of people. It's kind of his thing", Mira continued. "You know how he is—"

"Actually", Lucy cut in. "I _don't_ know 'how he is', nor do I have any interest in getting to know him."

"Aw, Lucy… If I had known you'd be upset, I wouldn't have said anything to him… But you were just sitting there all by yourself and I really thought it would be a nice gesture from one friend to another." She pointed at herself and then at Lucy to indicate the significance of their friendship.

Lucy sighed and for Mira's sake, forced a smile on her face, "It's fine. I'm just glad it's over and done with."

Mira smiled in relief and refilled Lucy's glass again.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Freed creep up to Mirajane behind the bar and hold his arm out at her as an invitation to dance.

"Care to join me, beautiful?" he cooed. His hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and he wore a dark, neatly buttoned suit with fancy sleeves for the occasion.

Mira giggled and bashfully looked away from him, "I'd love to, Freed, but I'm a very busy woman. I have customers to tend to!"

Placing her drinking glass onto the bar, Lucy got up from the stool and said coolly, "Not anymore you don't."

Freed and Mirajane both turned to look at Lucy who started towards the other side of the bar. "I think you deserve a break, lady. Go on and have some fun. I'll take care of the customers for now."

The take-over mage opened her mouth to insist that Lucy withdraw her offer, before a finger was pressed to her lips to silence her, "No arguing! Now, go dance your heart out!"

Mira bit her lip with uncertainty, but was forced to accept when Lucy playfully shooed them away and Freed took Mira's hand to pull her to the dance floor.

Lucy waved her friends goodbye, and downed the remaining contents of her punch from the other side of the bar. She grabbed a spare apron from a cupboard and tied it neatly around her waist.

"Hey, hey!" Wakaba called from the far end of the bar. He was drunkenly waving his empty beer mug at her as he chewed on the pipe in his mouth.

_Time to get to work!_

"Hello, Wakaba", Lucy greeted the older guild member.

"Hiya, Lucy!" the smoke mage chortled. "Boy, you sure look pretty tonight! Did you bring a hot date?"

Snorting, the blonde shook her head, "I did, but they all ditched me for someone else."

Wakaba tilted his head in confusion, "You had more than one date? Wow, you're a popular girl!"

"I came with some friends, actually", Lucy added. "But I tactfully reminded Wendy and Erza that they were under no obligation to babysit me tonight."

"Hmm…" The smoke mage pondered. "But I could have sworn I saw you on the dance floor earlier with someone. Although I can't for the life of me remember who..." He hiccupped, his expression changing to one of thoughtfulness.

"Here, I think your mug is empty. Let me refill it for you!" Lucy swiftly changed the subject so that she would not have to explain herself.

_The last thing I need is for rumors to start about a certain dragon-slayer and I._

Lucy grabbed his half-empty mug and stepped over to the bar tap and filled it to the brim before turning to hand it back to Wakaba, "Here you go!" She stopped in her tracks when she saw that he had passed out on the counter, his pipe clanking as it hit the bar. "Never mind", she muttered to herself.

"Don't waste that!" a woman's voice hissed right as Lucy angled the beer mug over the sink to dump it.

She looked over her shoulder to see a very drunk brunette clamoring over the counter.

"Cana!", Lucy greeted.

Cana was wearing a skimpy coral coloured dress, one which Lucy quietly noted showed even less skin than her usual attire.

"I'll take that off your hands!" Cana hiccupped, clumsily grabbing at the mug. "I still have plenty of room for more!"

_She's a bottomless booze pit! _

Lucy laughed and handed the mug to her friend, "Alright, but don't you have an entire keg to yourself somewhere?"

"Two actually!" the drunken brunette hollered, waving blindly at her friend as she wandered to the other side of the guild hall to join an equally drunken Bacchus.

Waving goodbye, the celestial mage turned around to pour herself another glass of punch from the bowl when she heard the screech of a stool against the floorboards from behind her. She turned around to see a familiar face and smiled.

"Hey", Gray greeted weakly as he sat down across from the blonde.

"Hi", said Lucy before taking a sip of her punch. She bit her tongue when she saw that the ice wizard was still half-nude, but frowned at the look of exasperation on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll have a beer please", he sighed, placing a hand to his forehead.

Lucy grabbed a clean beer mug from the cupboard and filled it at the bar tap. "You sure you're alright? You look pretty pale. I mean, paler than normal. And you're sweating bullets…"

Just as Lucy planted the mug on the counter in front of him, Gray turned his head to look up at her from between his fingers, "That's not sweat… It's Juvia."

The blonde choked on her drink at his choice of words, "Excuse me?"

Gray sighed wearily but did not reply.

"What do you mean, 'it's Juvia'?" Lucy asked. "You're telling me that that isn't sweat on your forehead, but bits and pieces of _Juvia_?"

Gray nodded bleakly while he tried to blot the water droplets off of his face with a napkin he found. "Yep, liquid Juvia."

Lucy cringed in disgust, "I… I don't even know what to say to that."

"It's not what you think! She's been drowning me all night long, hanging off of me like an inescapable puddle of _crazy_!"

"Where are you my darling, Gray?!" came a wavering voice nearby.

Gray's eyes widened in fear and he started to shake uncontrollably as he glanced around the guild hall to find the owner of the voice.

The blonde chuckled sadistically, but stopped when she saw the water droplets on Gray's face begin to quiver. "What the—"

"I know you're close, my love! I can feel the touch of your porcelain skin on my own…"

At this point, both Lucy and Gray pinpointed the voice, learning quickly that it was coming from the drops of water on the ice mage's face.

A visible shiver rolled up his naked back as he ditched the beer mug and bolted from the bar.

"There's no escape, darling. We are bound by the strings of fate!" Lucy heard the water-mage call as Gray disappeared into the crowd.

Speechless, the celestial mage stared after her friend in shock.

"Well that was more than disturbing", a cool voice interrupted.

Startled, Lucy flinched slightly when she noticed a tall armor-clad man making himself comfortable at the bar. He gazed at her with his dark brown eyes and grinned mischievously.

"Dan Straight?" Lucy mumbled.

He brushed an armored hand through his thick wavy locks and winked at her flirtatiously, "In the flesh. Have you missed me, my sweet?"

_Nope._

"Because I've thought of only you while I was gone! That hair, those legs, that dress, those eyes, they're stunning!"

The blonde sweat-dropped and slowly inched away from him.

_Ugh. Not this again._

"I thought you were on some kind of life-long quest to find the scattered pieces of the Infinity Clock with the rest of the Zentopia Legion Corps?"

"Ah, yes. While it's true that I had dedicated myself to the mission, I have only just recently decided that there is a greater mission at stake."

Lucy tilted her head curiously, "Oh?"

"You see…" Dan started, leaning far over the counter to be as close to Lucy as possible. "There is something, or rather someone, that I'd much rather dedicate my body and soul to…"

Chuckling nervously, Lucy pressed her back against the counter behind her. "Is that so? How nice for you."

_Jeez, he's persistent!_

It was quiet for a moment as the Lucy looked away from him knowing well that he was staring at her with great intensity.

Clearing her throat, the blonde cut through the awkward silence, "Can I offer you a drink?"

Still arched over the counter, Dan smiled suggestively at her, his eyes smoldering with passion, "Only if it's from your lips, my sweet Lucy."

_Yikes! He's like the male equivalent of Juvia._

The celestial mage arched her eyebrows and coughed nervously, "Thanks, but I'll pass. How about some wine? I hear we serve the best in Magnolia."

Suddenly, Dan was right in front of her. Somehow he had scaled the counter in a single motion just as quickly as Lucy could blink. Before she knew it, he had her hands in his so he could bring her closer to him.

"Sweet, innocent Lucy Heartfilia, you presence captivates my very being."

Lucy tried to creep away from him, but his grip was firm and demanding.

"You are the only woman for me! I love you, Lucy. Let us spend the rest of our lives together in holy matrimony!" He released one of her hands to thrust his left arm into the air with passion. "We will marry tomorrow!"

The blonde's eye twitched."Wakaba?" she called over to her guildmate at the end of the bar. His assistance would be useful, but unfortunately for her, he was too far gone with his drinking and continued to snooze at the bar.

A cold sensation touched her chin as Dan Straight caught her face in the palm of his free hand. He tilted her head up and inched his face closer to hers. "You are _so beautiful."_

"T-thank you", she stuttered, trying to peel away from him as politely as possible. She wanted to do her best not to offend the guy. He was an ally, after all.

Gazing into her golden brown eyes, Dan's face melted into an warm smile. "I wanted to save our first kiss for the wedding, but…" He inched even closer, his lips mere inches away from hers. "I don't think I can resist any longer…"

"Is there a problem?" came a deep voice from behind Dan. He turned around to look up and lock eyes with none other than Laxus Dreyer. Lucy felt her shoulders relax and she quickly caught her breath.

_This guy has excellent timing!_

"You know, harassing the bar maid is strictly against Fairy Tail policy", the dragon-slayer boomed, his enormous figure looming over the armored man.

"Harassing? Don't be ridiculous! I am professing my love to the woman of my dreams!" Dan released his grip on Lucy's hands and turned around to face the dragon-slayer in defiance.

"I'm pretty sure the lady wants you to leave her alone", Laxus warned.

"And I'm pretty sure you interrupted us! Now if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of something…"

Lucy saw Dan's momentary distraction as an opportunity to grab the punch bowl from the counter behind her and just as he turned around to continue his serenade, she flipped the bowl over, dumping its liquid contents all over him.

**SPLASH!**

The expression he wore was one of pure shock and awe, punch dripping down his hair, face, and armor. Before he could say anything in response, Lucy ditched the bowl and forcefully pinched his jaw between her thumb and forefinger, "Go home and change, Dan. That armor will rust, you know."

The knight's lip quivered weakly as he straightened up, "But Lucy, my sweet, I—"

"Don't you get it?" hissed the blonde as she released his face and took a step away from him. "I'm not interested in you!"

Dan blinked a few times before animated hearts bounced from his dark eyes. He grabbed her delicate hands again and pulled them to his chest affectionately, "Your condescending attitude is simply charming! Ah yes, your stubborn behaviour only presses me further to win your affections!"

With a heavy sigh, Lucy looked over Dan's shoulder to Laxus who shot her a questionable look, as if he were awaiting permission. She nodded, knowing full well what Laxus' intentions were, and in a moment the dragon-slayer grabbed the knight by the collar of his armor, dragged him over the bar and tossed him out the back doors of the guild.

"This is_ LOVE!"_ she heard Dan faintly call.

Lucy shook her head in annoyance, but felt a little better when another slow song started to play, "Safe" By Britt Nicole. It one of Lucy's personal favorites.

Laxus walked back to the bar chuckling to himself, "You're like a magnet for psychotic men."

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Apparently." She smoothed out the wrinkles in her sparkly navy dress and grabbed a cloth from the sink to clean up her mess. "Thanks, by the way", she mumbled as she bent over to wipe the floor clean.

The dragon-slayer grunted in reply, too preoccupied with Lucy's compromising position to use actual words. She was bent over in such a way that he could see the round, yet firm curves of her hips and ass. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, resisting the urge to peer further over the counter where he would surely see a substantial amount of cleavage.

He moved his gaze from her body to the ceiling to clear his mind of inappropriate thoughts.

When she got up from the floor, she tossed the cloth back into the sink and smiled at him warmly, "All done! So can I grab you something to drink?"

Laxus leaned on the counter for a moment, pondering to himself. "I have a better idea", he started coolly. Lucy pursed her lips in uncertainty. "How about _I_ buy_ you_ a drink?"

The blonde woman cocked an eyebrow, "Drinks are free tonight. And why would you want to buy me one anyways?"

"You've had a long and eventful night, I think you deserve to take a breather."

Lucy's brow furrowed, "That's nice of you, but I… Have to serve other customers right now. I promised Mira."

Laxus raised his eyebrows skeptically and straightened up to gesture around them. The crowd had quieted, people dancing silently with their partners or passed out drunk in random spots in the guild hall. "I don't think you're going to have many more patrons tonight", he said.

Shrugging, the celestial mage cracked a weak smile, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"And if someone does ask for something to drink, then I will be happy to serve them."

"_You_?" Lucy laughed and pointed to the apron tied around her waist. "If anyone sees you in this apron, they'll run away screaming before they've even paid for their drink. We'd be at a financial loss."

"But aren't drinks are free tonight?" Laxus teased, smirking at her. He hated to admit it, but he liked to hear Lucy laugh. Especially when he was the one to make her laugh. "So what'll it be?" he asked her, hopping over the counter in one swift movement.

"Hmm", Lucy thought to herself as she removed the apron and made her way over to the patron side of the bar. She pressed a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "I'm not sure…"

Laxus stood wide-eyed for a moment before clearing his throat, "This isn't your first drink is it?"

Lucy's cheeks flushed slightly, "Of course not!" She started to fidget uncontrollably on the stool, grabbing at the hem of her dress. "I've had plenty of drinks before!"

The dragon-slayer's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I meant _alcoholic_ drink…"

Lucy was silent as she struggled to find her words.

"Wow!" Laxus' booming laugh echoed against the glass mugs behind him. "You've never had alcohol before."

Pouting, Lucy's face reddened even more.

_What the hell? Why am I blushing? Who cares if I haven't had alcohol. It's not like it's a big deal._

"I've just never been interested before", she grumbled, diverting her eyes away from him in unforeseen embarrassment. "So what?"

For whatever reason, Lucy felt the need to defend her innocence.

Laxus patted her head gently, "It's okay. You're young." He turned his back to her to pour her a mystery drink.

"Umm, you're not that much older than me", she muttered in annoyance.

_Does he think I'm a child? He's only like 5 years older. If anyone here is childish, it's him!_

Snickering at her irritation, the dragon-slayer whipped around and placed an ornate looking wine glass in front of her. "You need to let loose and drink up!"

"Fine, I will!" she took the glass in both hands and downed the contents in one go.

Laxus' cheeky grin fell as he waited in anticipation.

Her face was blank at first, but once the contents had filled her stomach, her expression turned sour. "Yes!" she spat in satisfaction.

It was Laxus' turn to sweat-drop, "You're supposed to sip wine, not chug it, blondie."

She gently placed the empty glass on the counter, silently demanding more. The dragon-slayer grabbed the uncorked wine bottle from behind him and poured her another glass full.

Lucy frowned at the drink before chugging it back again. "I'm 18 years old! I'm an adult, and I can drink wine _however_ I want!"

"That was a delayed response…" mumbled Laxus, shaking his head at her.

"What was that?" an increasingly tipsy Lucy barked.

"Nothing. Just admiring that fantastic smile of yours", he replied with a wink.

_That's a lie and a half._

Raising an eyebrow skeptically, the celestial mage pushed her empty glass closer to the wine bottle in anticipation for more.

Laxus filled her glass again, but swiftly pulled it away from her before she could grab it.

"Hey!" she snapped, crossing her arms in frustration.

"You need to slow down, or you'll be blowing chunks all over the floor in 10 minutes" he informed her sternly.

Lucy didn't reply, instead pulling the pretty star-shaped hairpin from her shiny golden locks and fiddling with it absentmindedly.

"Did you hear me?"

Lucy frowned and rolled her eyes at him, "Yessir! Take it slooooooow!"

"Okay…" the blonde man chuckled. "Maybe this should be your last glass of wine tonight."

As she took the glass from the counter, the celestial mage scowled at him and made a dramatic attempt to sip her wine, but spilled all down her dress instead. Fortunately, Lucy was too intoxicated to take much notice, whereas under sober circumstances her sloppiness would have grossly appalled her.

He chuckled again and leaned against the bar, "So what's new with Team Natsu?"

"Hmm?" Lucy swallowed, surprised at his random choice of conversation.

_Is he trying to make small talk?_

"Team Natsu is fantastic", the blonde sighed in response. "I'm just not sure that I belong on it anymore."

"What do you mean?" Laxus frowned.

Hiccupping, Lucy continued, "Well, Lisanna is back now."

"Yeah, and?"

She opened the palm of her hand and started clumsily counting with her fingers.

_Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lisanna, Me._

"Including Lisanna, there are eight of us now. And I'm pretty sure that eight is a 'crowd.' If I'm not on the team, then they're back to being lucky number seven."

Scoffing, Laxus replied, "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

Lucy's eyes were heavy, but her mouth opened in surprise, "Excuse?"

Crossing his muscular arms across his chest, the dragon-slayer spoke, "You heard me. Sounds to me like you're just looking for an excuse to break off from the team, and find your own path, you know?" His face was serious, his mouth pinched in a straight line from cheek to cheek.

It was quiet for a while, Lucy was off in her own world, while Lucy remained uncertain of what to say.

Finally, after a rather un-lady-like burp, Lucy broke the silence, "Maybe you're right. To be honest, I don't really know what I want right now..." She looked down at her lap with saddened eyes.

Taking notice, and feeling partly responsible for her sudden change of mood, Laxus cleared his throat in preparation for a response that might put things in perspective for her. "Some people are better off on teams, while others work best alone. There are even people who manage to find a balance between the two. And sometimes you need to experience solitude before you can truly understand what's important to you. You'll figure it out sooner or later."

_Is he talking about when he was expelled from Fairy Tail?_

Smiling, the celestial mage nodded, perhaps with a little too much force as she immediately started grasping at her head in pain.

_Oww._

When she emptied her final glass of wine, Lucy spun around on the stool and turned her back to Laxus.

_Ohhh. I feel weird…._

She watched the dancing mess of people in front of her, eyes glazed over and mouth agape. The softened colours from the light lacrima on the ceiling rippled across the floor and the many people on it. It was a whimsical sight, perhaps even more so for someone who had had too much to drink.

Lucy sat quietly staring off into space for a few minutes content with just enjoying the music and the lights. And then, out of nowhere, she decided that she wanted to dance some more.

She enthusiastically jumped off of the stool, only to stumble to the floor, laughing maniacally at her own clumsiness.

Laxus sighed and raced to her side to help her up from the ground.

"I told you to take it slow", he scolded mildly, pulling her up by her arms. She leaned her entire body weight against him and giggled, "Yeah, yeah. I want to dance! Come with me!"

The blonde man cracked a weak smile, "Not likely! You can't even walk properly, let alone dance."

Lucy playfully punched his shoulder, "Oh come on! I feel... floaty."

"I think it's time for you to get home, blondie. You are undeniably inebriated", he replied, throwing her arm around his shoulder to brace her frame for walking. He waved goodbye to Mirajane who had her head rested on Freed's chest. She waved back, a cheeky grin on her face, while Freed simply nodded at his friend.

"Wait! W-what about Loke?" the blonde stammered, leaning against Laxus' muscular build. "I can't leave him here."

"I'm no celestial mage, but I'm pretty sure spirits can find their way home with ease. _You_ on the other hand are a different story", he replied.

As Lucy and Laxus slowly started out the back door of the guild, she stumbled again, nearly taking the dragon-slayer down with her.

"Alright then. I guess I'll be carrying you."

Lucy suddenly pushed away from him, nearly losing her balance as she did so. She waggled her arms in the air in an attempt to visually express her next few words, "None of that _BOOM-ZAP_ stuff, okay? It makes me sick... I feel sick…"

"_Boom-zap_? What, you don't like my lightning?" Laxus stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout.

The blonde woman fell to her knees and gagged, nauseated from her recent escapades with liquor.

"Come here", the dragon-slayer muttered. He grabbed her arm and picked her up with ease. She moaned, draped over his arms bridal style.

_My tummy hurts…_

"I'm sleepy", she whispered.

Just seconds after she spoke, Lucy violently vomited all over her dress and Laxus' shirt.

"Oops", she gargled, wiping the mess from her mouth with her arm.

With a heavy sigh, the dragon-slayer mumbled, "Don't worry, blondie. We'll get you cleaned up."

But Lucy didn't hear him, for she was already fast asleep, dangling limply in his arms as they walked away from the guild.

* * *

Groaning, the exhausted blonde blindly rolled onto her side.

_Ugh, my head is killing me…_

When her eyes had focused, Lucy saw that she wasn't in her bed.

"What the hell?" she mumbled to herself groggily.

_Where am I?_

The blonde sat up in the mystery bed and moaned when a wave of pain pulsed through her skull.

_It feels like I was hit by a train._

Her heart started to pound furiously against her ribcage when she looked around and realized that she was not in her apartment. In fact, she was pretty sure that she was in a house, and a very spacious and illustrious one at that.

"What the hell…" she mumbled in a panicked whisper.

She looked around the room in a desperate attempt to find something or someone she might recognize when she spotted her sparkly dress from the previous evening hanging daintily from a coat hanger on the doorknob of the bedroom ensuite.

_If my dress is over there, then…_

Lucy exhaled anxiously before she whipped the duvet and sheets from her body and looked in horror to see that she was wearing nothing but a two-piece set of black lacy unmentionables; lingerie that she had never seen before in her life.

She screamed in horror, her head suddenly feeling even heavier than before she was fully awake.

_What happened last night?!_

Without a moment's notice, the door to the mystery bedroom flung open to reveal a very surprised Laxus who was wearing only a pair of black boxers.

They looked at her each for a split second before Lucy screamed again and pulled the blankets over her half-naked body. When he realized what he just saw, Laxus' normally serious face wrinkled and he wearily covered his eyes with one of his large hands.

"Laxus?" she hissed, her cheeks glowing red from the combined efforts of embarrassment and anger.

"Yeah?" he started, still averting his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"What's _wrong_?" the blonde had her mouth open in both shock and dismay. She pulled the sheets up to her chin to be certain that she was fully covered. "What am I wearing?" Before he could reply, she exhaled sharply and continued, "And why am I in your bed?"

Mustering up the courage, the dragon-slayer finally managed to look over at her. He cracked a smartass smile, "Looked like some sexy lingerie to me." His smile turned devious, "_Very_ sexy lingerie."

Lucy scowled at him before he added, "And you're in my room because being the gentleman that I am, I took the couch."

"Took the couch? What does that even _mean_?"

Laxus chuckled, "You really don't remember anything from last night do you?"

Brow furrowed, the celestial mage swallowed hard and shook her head.

"You got wasted last night and couldn't walk two steps without falling. I was a concerned guild mate, and thought I'd escort you back to your place when you puked all over yourself and your hot dress. My house was closer, so I carried you here to clean up and then you passed out on my bed."

Lucy was quiet for a moment as she digested this new information. "Okay. But that still doesn't explain why I'm wearing… _this_." She gestured to her scantily clad body which was hidden from view.

The dragon-slayer put both hands up in the air, "Don't look at me! When I saw you last, you were fast asleep under the covers."

She wrinkled her nose in confusion when Laxus continued, "Although, you might want to talk to that kinky maid spirit of yours. She was here too last night."

_Virgo?_

"Anyways, I'm going to…" he didn't finish his sentence and pointed out the door.

"Yeah, thanks…" Lucy droned as he closed the door behind him.

_Okay, good. So if Laxus is telling the truth, then I have nothing to worry about, right? We didn't even sleep in the same bed! Although if he decided to go shirtless more often, I wouldn't stop him... Ahem, and why was Virgo here with me?_

Suddenly, Lucy's stomach plummeted. "My keys", she whispered.

_Where are my keys?!_

She started to panic again and jumped out of the bed to frantically search for them. After a few minutes rifling through the bedroom's random content, Lucy paused to think.

_This is ridiculous! Where could I have left them? Even if I was drunk, there's no way that I'd be so careless to lose them!_

"Virgo!" she called desperately.

"You called, Princess?" the maid flickered into sight and bowed graciously. "Is it time for punishment?"

Lucy waved a hand dismissively, "No. Have you seen my keys?"

Virgo pointed to the floor under the bed where her precious set of keys sat in the shadows.

"Thank God!" she breathed, crouching down to grab them. She clutched them to her chest possessively, "I'm _so_ sorry!"

_Aquarius is going to kill me for losing track of them..._

"No need to apologize, Princess. I'm certain that you would have found them even without my help."

The blonde frowned, "Maybe, but still…"

Suddenly, she remembered why she had been so distraught in the first place. Putting the keys on the bedsheets behind her, Lucy placed her hands on her hips in preparation for an interrogation, "Hey, I'm curious, Virgo... Do you have any idea why I'm wearing lacy lingerie that I'm _positive_ I wasn't wearing at the party last night?" She stared wide-eyed at her spirit in anticipation for her answer.

Her face unchanged, Virgo answered honestly, "My apologies, Princess. When I discovered that your dress had been soiled, I took the liberty of changing you out of it and cleaning it in the spirit world."

"Mhhmm?" The blonde pressed.

"When I arrived to take your dress, I noticed that you were not alone. In fact, you were with a very handsome man. He left to give us some privacy, and when I removed your dress I noted that you were wearing particularly unattractive undergarments."

Lucy cocked her eyebrow at Virgo and scoffed before the spirit continued, "As your loyal spirit, I felt that it was duty to ensure your success in _every_ endeavor and took it upon myself to slip you into something more _appealing_."

"My underwear wasn't _that_ bad!" Lucy scoffed. "And besides that, nothing was going to happen between Laxus and I. I puked on my dress, he took me to his place to clean up and that was it."

Virgo's face remained expressionless, "You sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" the celestial mage confirmed. She chuckled in disbelief and plopped on the side of the bed.

"Will I be punished?" Virgo's cheeks flushed slightly at the notion.

Lucy sighed and placed a hand to her forehead, "_No_, Virgo. No punishment today."

The maid stared at her master blankly and nodded, "Very well. Then I'll be on my way."

She was about to disappear when Lucy called out to her again, "Hey Virgo?"

"Yes, Princess?"

Lucy smiled warmly at her, "Thanks for your help. I know that you meant well. You're always looking out for me."

"Of course. You're welcome." Virgo bowed again and vanished in a ripple of gold.

When she was alone again, the blonde tiptoed to the ensuite to scrutinize her appearance in the mirror. She squealed, clearly horrified by her reflection. Not only was yesterday's makeup smeared around her eyes, but the braid that she wore the night before was barely intact, her hair gathered in a clump of knots at the back of her head.

_Ew!_

She pulled out the hair elastic and ran her fingers through her loose blonde locks. Afterwards she scrubbed her face with soap and water to erase the remnants of makeup. Her mind wandered as she dried off her clean face with a conveniently placed face cloth nearby.

_I guess I should apologize to Laxus. _

Lucy looked at herself over once more to be sure that her appearance was acceptable. Her hair was down and crimped from the braid she wore last night, and she had to admit that it looked kind of pretty.

When she felt that she had recovered her appearance somewhat,she took a deep breath in an attempt to gather what little courage and dignity she had left. Then, putting on her freshly dry cleaned dress, the celestial mage attached her keys to the garter on her thigh and left the bedroom before closing the door quietly behind her.

_Well, here goes nothing…_


	6. Chapter Six

_A/N: Hey guys and gals! Thank you so much for your love and support! I want to apologize for the 3.5 month delay in an update... Anyways, I promised a super long chapter, but I've decided to post a shorter chapter followed by a longer chapter later on. It just works better with the plotline. You might want to re-read chapter five so this chapter isn't as confusing. Sorry that it's not a super interesting chapter, but at least it's something! lol. Please comment/review/message me what you think about the latest chapter! Love._

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

The blonde tip-toed down the iron rod staircase, her black shoes dangling in one hand while the other hand followed down the railing. At the foot of the stairs, Lucy picked up on the scent of fresh coffee and decided follow her nose in hopes that it would lead her to Laxus.

After passing through a room or two, she creeped around a corner to see Laxus sitting quietly in the kitchen.

_Take a deep breath, Lucy. An apology is absolutely necessary!_

"Good morning", Lucy greeted, stepping awkwardly up to the table.

"'Is it?" grunted Laxus. Peering over the newspaper he was reading, the dragon-slayer glanced at her for a brief moment before turning back to his reading materials. He sipped from his coffee mug and flipped the newspaper page with his free hand before continuing, "Because twenty minutes ago, I got the distinct feeling that you wanted to hurt me."

The celestial mage felt her stomach drop and her mouth dry up. It was quiet between the two of them as she struggled to find her voice, but to no avail.

_I'm an asshole._

She fiddled with the hemline of her freshly dry-cleaned dress and chewed on her lip anxiously.

Then, without looking up from the newspaper Laxus spoke, "There's hot coffee on the counter if you want."

"Thanks", Lucy started. "But I'm not much of a coffee drinker…"

He chuckled lightly, "you don't drink booze and you don't drink coffee. Is there anything that you _do_ like to drink?"

Scratching her cheek bashfully, she replied, "Yeah, of course there is. Only, when it comes to money, rent is my first priority. Food and beverages are kind of an afterthought."

Laxus dropped his paper to stare at her, his eyes riddled with concern.

When she noted his expression, she blushed, waving both hands at him frantically, "Oh! But I get by just fine!"

_Um. Why did I tell him that?_

Lucy quickly collected herself and brushed it aside, "I mean, I'm not starving or anything. My monthly budget doesn't really leave room for more than basic necessities."

The dragon-slayer continued to stare without saying a word, his coffee mug held firmly in his grasp mid-way to his mouth.

"No frills, you know?" she laughed half-heartedly, rocking back and forth on her bare feet.

_Awkward!_

Uncertain how to reply, the blonde man cleared his throat and made a swift attempt to change the subject. "Alright then…" he muttered under his breath.

Folding his newspaper, he placed it neatly on the table and laced his fingers together in a serious manner. His ocean blue eyes bore into her as he spoke, "I'm going to the guild pretty quick to get some breakfast. Do you want to join me? I'm buying."

Lucy raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah?" he replied with a smirk. "Unless you plan on stabbing at me with accusing eyes like this you did earlier this morning."

Her face was hot, her cheeks turning rosy in embarrassment, and she found herself once again at a loss for words.

The dragon-slayer got up from the table to dump the remains of his coffee down the kitchen sink. "No need to get all hot and bothered, blondie", he stated coolly. "It's not like it's a date or anything."

_Arrogant, son of a bitch._

Then, abandoning the mug he walked over to Lucy and paused to lean in to her, "Unless you want it to be." He winked and cracked a cheeky smile.

Lucy involuntarily shuddered at his closeness, and dropped her head so that her crimped locks fell across her face and cast a shadow.

When Laxus went to continue on past her he felt a tug at his wrist and looked down to see that the blonde woman had firmly grasped the sleeve of his shirt.

"Hmm?" he breathed.

"I'm sorry, Laxus", she said in a small voice.

His sensitive dragon ears perked up at the sound of his name passing her lips.

Exhaling, Lucy continued, "I'm sorry for assuming the worst of you."

She continued to hold his sleeve and when their hands accidentally touched, Laxus felt static roll through his body.

"Hey", he finally replied. "I get it. That whole situation upstairs looked worse than it actually was."

Finally she relaxed her grip on him, letting her arm fall limp at her side. He gently placed one of his massive hands on her head, and she flinched in surprise. She looked up at him with big doe eyes and saw that he was smiling, a real genuine non-smug smile.

_Wow. He's almost charming._

"It's fine. I promise", he said calmly.

She nodded and managed to smile back at him.

**POOF!**

"Princess?" a familiar voice called from nearby.

Lucy jumped in surprise, and turned around to meet eye to eye with Virgo.

"Hi!" she shouted.

The pink-haired maid quickly noted that Lucy was not alone. She gave Laxus a curt nod and he waved awkwardly in return.

"Sorry for interrupting, but when I returned to the spirit world, it occurred to me that there might be some unfinished business here."

"Unfinished business?" the celestial mage pondered. "What are you talking about?"

Staring over Lucy's shoulder, Virgo pointed at Laxus who had walked to the front door to grab his jacket, and explained herself, "Last night I successfully collected and cleaned your fancy dress, but I failed to retrieve the gentleman's spoiled clothing."

_Spoiled? What's that supposed to mean? Unless…_

Lucy very rigidly turned her head to face the dragon-slayer, her lips wavering in anticipation, "Did I…?"

"Empty your stomach contents all over my dress shirt?" Laxus finished as he neared her again. "Yeah, you did." He chuckled nonchalantly, and scratched at the back of his head.

Face paling, Lucy struggled to compose herself. She was mortified, unsettled nerves pressuring her whole body to shake uncontrollably.

_Kill me now._

"It's no big deal. I took care of it", he assured her with confidence.

"No big deal?" she repeated in awe. "That's disgusting! I'm _so_ sorry!" The celestial mage immediately dropped the upper half of her body to bow in apology.

"It's no problem. You don't need to apologize", he muttered.

"I'm so embarrassed", Lucy grumbled as she straightened up. "Talk about a total screw up."

"Woah, woah, woah! You're not a screw up", Laxus cut in. "Accidents happen. Besides, it's not like you did it on purpose. Most people don't go out of their way to vomit on other people. And even with a small percentage of diabolical vomitters, I really don't think you fit the profile."

In her humiliation, Lucy lost it and broke into a fit of laughter. Laxus stared at her in disbelief, but his face quickly softened when he saw that she had relaxed a little.

"Thank you", she gasped when she had calmed down.

"For what?" he asked.

Beaming, Lucy wiped the tears from eyes and turned to look at him, "For making me feel like less of an idiot."

He chuckled again, "Anytime! But I'd prefer not to get used to people puking on me. If that's okay with you."

Heartbeat quickening, Lucy's face melted into a sparkling smile.

For a brief moment, the two them gazed into one another's eyes, each quietly appreciating the other's company.

"Ahem", a voice interrupted.

Both wizards snapped out of their trance when they realized that Virgo was still present.

"I think I can agree to those terms", Lucy finally stuttered.

"Princess? Why is your face red? Are you ill?" the maid tilted her head with uncertainty. As soon as Virgo drew attention to her reddened face, it fell a shade darker.

Laxus knew that she was blushing from that brief intimate moment and he couldn't help but snicker to himself as the conversation between wizard and spirit egged on.

"I'm fine, Virgo. Thank you. I'll call you if I need you."

_I don't think the word 'tact' is in her vocabulary…_

"If you insist", the pink-haired maid replied coolly, bowing to her master. "I wish you the best of luck."

_Luck? With what?_

**POOF!**

The celestial spirit was gone.

"I like her", the dragon-slayer stated cheerfully. "She's funny. And she has great taste in clothes."

Lucy curled her lip in disgust.

_A maid outfit, really? What a typical pervy man fetish._

As if he'd read her mind, he defended himself, "There's nothing wrong with honesty."

"I guess not."

The dragon-slayer stepped away from her, heading to the front door and gesturing for her to follow.

"Hey, do you think you can do me a favour?" Lucy asked sincerely when she reached him. Her chocolate brown orbs were twinkling with concern, and Laxus was immediately taken aback.

"Sure."

She absent-mindedly swayed her shoes from side to side in her free hand, "Can we forget that this whole thing happened?"

Laxus smirked, "The fact that we saw each other in our skivvies or the fact that you puked on me?"

Lucy's eyes glazed over as an image of a very muscular Laxus in boxers flickered across her mind.

_Stop it, Lucy!_

When she returned to reality, she cleared her throat and walked past him to open the front door, "Both."

"If you insist", he followed after her, "But it'll be hard to forget _everything_…"

_Annnd he's back._

She cocked an eyebrow at him and shook her head in disapproval.

"To breakfast?" he asked playfully.

"To breakfast."

Laxus locked the front door and shot her a funny look when he noted her footwear...or lack-there-of.

She shrugged and waggled her shoes into the air, "You try walking in heels after a night of drinking!"

"It's kind of funny. You speak as though you could walk in them properly_ before_ you started drinking."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the triumphant grin on his face.

And with that, the unlikely pair started towards the guild walking side by side.


	7. Chapter Seven

**A/N:**

_Greetings! I had a blast writing this chapter, and (as promised) it's an extra long one! I hope you all like it. Please feel free to review or message me. I love to hear what you like specifically about each chapter and the story itself. Your input is a significant reason why I continue to write, as I feel inspired to continue with the story! Thanks for reading. Love._

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

The fifteen minute walk from Laxus' house to the Fairy Tail guild was drowned in awkward silence, but for the awful pounding of blood in her ears from her hangover.

When they finally reached the guild, Laxus opened large wooden door and held it open for Lucy to enter first.

"Thanks", she said quietly.

"I'm going to go say hi to the team", Laxus said pointing to a table across the room where the Thunder Legion had gathered. "I'll come get you in a bit, so we can grab a bite to eat."

"Okay", Lucy replied.

He gave her a curt nod before heading towards his friends at the back of the guild, by the stage.

Then she noticed a blue mass from the corner of her eye and turned her head to see Levy waving frantically at her.

"Hey Lu-lu!" Levy chortled as her friend took a seat across from at one of Fairy Tail's many tables.

"Hi! You're certainly bright and cheery today" the blonde greeted. "What time is it?"

"It's around nine o' clock", the solid script mage replied.

Lucy grabbed her head as another wave of pain plowed through her skull. She groaned in agony.

Levy chuckled, "A little hung over are we?" Lucy nodded. "I'm willing to bet that everyone who's not here is much worse off than you. They're probably still in bed with a bad headache or an upset tummy."

She thought it was pretty quiet when they first walked in. "Yeah, there's hardly anyone here!"

Scanning the room, Lucy noted that only a handful of Fairy Tail mages were present, and she was particularly surprised to see that Natsu, Happy, and Erza were all uncharacteristically absent.

Gray stood in front of the job request board seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was wearing only his underwear. Unbeknownst to him, Juvia was crouched under a nearby table silently yearning for him and waiting patiently for when he unconsciously removed the last piece of clothing he had on.

_Yikes! Haha._

"Bartender!" Cana hollered across the room. "I'll have another keg, if you don't mind!"

Lucy and Levy followed her voice and saw the busty brunette down a mug full of booze. She finished her drink with a loud sigh of satisfaction. Clearly, her drinking escapades from the previous night had left her unscathed.

"I'm on it!" called Mirajane cheerfully from the bar. She disappeared to the supply closet, quickly reappearing with a large wooden barrel that she rolled over to Cana.

"Thanks, girl", said Cana.

"Anyways... So what happened to you last night?" the blunette steered their conversation back on course. She positioned her elbows on the table and propped her head up on her palms. "I saw you with Laxus at the bar. Did anything interesting happen?"

"Yeah", Lucy groaned. "I got drunk, and it's all his fault."

Levy sighed and straightened up in her seat, "Is that all? I was hoping that you two had recognized your compatibility and madly fallen in love… or something along those lines."

Lucy clicked her tongue and laughed, "You sound just like Mira."

"Well, I saw you guys last night!" the script-mage declared, raising her voice slightly. "He was totally checking you out on the dance floor."

"Whatever. I doubt it. He's too much anyways."

"Too much?" Levy repeated, furrowing her brow. "I don't get it."

The blonde crossed her legs and used her right hand to gesture in the air, "You know… Too proud, too popular, too arrogant, too old. Things like that."

Wrinkling her nose, Levy replied, "Too old? He's not that much older than us, Lu."

"So I've heard." The lights started to aggravate Lucy's already unbearable headache, so she closed her eyes to try and spare herself any further discomfort.

Then, Levy's cheek flushed and she leaned across the table to be closer to her friend. "Could it be that he intimidates you because he's too… _experienced?_"

The celestial mage flicked her eyes open in half a second, and dropped her jaw in astonishment. "What?!"

"You heard me", the blunette giggled inwardly. "Everyone knows Laxus has been around the block once or twice or… lots."

Lucy let out a nervous laugh and shook her head in disgust. "Absolutely not! Levy, I can't believe you actually said that! It's so unlike you."

Levy relaxed and sat back down on the table bench, twiddling her thumbs in embarrassment. "Yeah, well, you're my best friend. I'm going to talk to you about these kind of things, because I can't talk about them with Jet or Droy." Her cheeks were still pink from her bold insinuation.

Squinting in suspicion, Lucy let loose a cheeky grin, "Is there something you want to talk about? Did something happen with Gajeel?"

"NO!" Levy gasped, waving her hands in front of her defensively. "And don't change the subject!"

_It was worth a shot._

It was at the moment that the petite script-mage stared inquisitively at Lucy. When she saw that she was barefoot and hadn't changed out of her party dress, she shivered with delight.

Gasping, Levy glanced around them to be sure that no one was listening before leaning in again and whispering into Lucy's ear, "Did you spend the night at Laxus' house?"

Lucy flushed, "Well, yeah. But it's not like that! I slept in his bed, alone. He slept on the couch downstairs. That's it. He di—"

"What's going on here?" Cana interrupted, throwing herself between the two mages. "Are we gossiping?" she hiccupped. "What's the latest?" Before Lucy or Levy could reply Cana looked the blonde up and down, noting that she hadn't changed her clothes. "You never went home last night…" she grinned and narrowed her eyes. "So who was it Lucy?"

"Laxus", Levy squeaked. Lucy shot her a dirty look, and the blunette clasped a hand over her mouth in apology. "Sorry, Lu! I wasn't thinking!"

"Laxus, eh?" Cana sat up on the table and chugged down some more beer. "He's a good looking guy. Nice work! Did you guys _do it?"_

Lucy's face lit up like a candle, steam billowing out her ears. She placed a finger to her lips to silence the drunken woman.

"Shhh! Be quiet!" she hissed.

Cana tilted her head and smirked, "So you guys did! Was it good?"

The blonde was vibrating from a combination of embarrassment and irritation. "No, Cana. We did NOT… _do it."_ She whispered the last part so that no one could hear and slumped forward before burying her face in her arms on the tabletop.

She wanted to crawl into a hole, because she knew Laxus had heard everything. His sensitive dragon ears made sure of that. And she was certain he was looking over at her right now, with an arrogant smile plastered across his face.

_Oh God. Damnit, Cana!_

"So…" the brunette mumbled, taking sipping from her beer mug.

Levy shot her friend a look of sympathy before taking control of the conversation, "Lucy _did_ spend the night at Laxus' place, but she only slept there. That's it. Nothing more happened. They didn't even sleep in the same room."

With a heavy sigh, Cana rolled her eyes, "Well that's no fun."

She jumped down from the table, spilling her drink a little when she made contact with the ground.

Placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder, she spoke, "It's okay, Luce. You don't want your first time to be with a guy like that anyways." She scowled before taking another swig of her drink, "I learned that the hard way."

_Cleary a case of sour grapes. Please, just leave already…_

Lucy didn't lift her head from her arms and she didn't reply.

Suddenly the front doors of the guild burst open with a cluster of wizards wandering in like an obnoxious buffalo heard in migration. Lucy saw Erza's head of scarlet locks amongst the crowd, but it wasn't until everyone had settled down that she caught sight of Wendy and Carla who were much shorter than the others.

The three of them sat down at Juvia's table where, much to the water mage's delight, Gray joined them. The four of them immediately started reminiscing the events of last night, swapping all kinds of stories with one another.

"Yo, Cana!" Macao called, waving at her.

"Took you long enough to get here", the brunette jeered. "Don't tell me that a little hangover kept you in bed this whole time?"

She started towards the older mage who scratched his head.

"Don't count me out!" Wakaba shouted as he appeared from behind his oldest friend.

"See you later, girls!" the woman hollered as she started towards the older mages.

Macao scratched his cheek bashfully, knowing full well that he was in for a heckling, and Wakaba snickered sadistically.

"Jeez", Lucy huffed, peeking out from the safety of her arms. "That was _painful!"_

Levy chuckled, "That's Cana, for you. She doesn't hold back, does she?"

* * *

Laxus had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing when he tuned in to Lucy's awkward conversation with Cana. Mildly entertained, he cracked a wicked smile of satisfaction. He looked over at her table, and was disappointed to see that her face was hidden. 'I guess she's embarrassed', he thought to himself and his stomach suddenly shifted uncomfortably as a mild dose of guilt firmly planted itself in his gut.

"Where were you last night?" Evergreen whined, curling her lip out in an exaggerated pout. She leaned up against the shared table of the Thunder Legion.

"Yeah, you just disappeared, man", added Bickslow. He folded his arms across his chest, and flicked his tattooed tongue out in a serpentine manner.

"Disappeared!" "Disappeared!" "Disappeared" his totem babies repeated, flittering around their master's head.

Laxus rolled his eyes and grumbled, "You guys need to relax."

With a heavy sigh, Freed closed his eyes and spoke, "I must admit that I was a little disappointed to see you leave the party early."

Evergreen and Bickslow turned their attention to their rune-mage companion. "You _knew_?!" they hissed in unison.

"I went home", the dragon-slayer finally answered in monotone.

Disregarding his response completely, they scolded Freed for being so secretive.

Bickslow shook his head and replied sarcastically, "Way to keep us out of the loop, Freed."

"I can't believe you didn't say anything to us", the woman snarled, hiding her face behind her fan to make known her displeasure at being excluded. "How were we supposed to know that he left the guild of his own free will?"

"Laxus is his own man!" the rune-mage started. His eyes shot open and his demeanor fell to one of overwhelming intensity. "Your disrespect to our leader is evident in your lack of credit." His eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

The sandy brunette and her masked companion did not reply as they pondered Freed's words.

Then, without warning, Evergreen wrapped herself around one of Laxus' muscular arms. "I'm so sorry, Laxus! Freed's right, _obviously_ you can take care of yourself."

The dragon-slayer cringed at her touch, and was even less impressed when Bickslow placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, man. No disrespect!" he said plainly.

"Disrespect!" "Disrespect", his babies chortled excitedly.

"Sure, whatever", Laxus replied coolly, shrugging off both Evergreen and Bickslow at the same time.

Freed relaxed his body and smiled at his friend, "How was your night, Laxus? I take it, Miss Heartfilia made it home alright."

"Uh, no."

Freed's green hair antennae fluffed up in surprise. "_No_? What happened? Were you two attacked?" he interrogated, a sense of urgency in his normally leveled tone.

The other two looked from Freed to Laxus as they quietly followed their conversation.

Massaging his brow, Laxus continued, "No. She spent the night at my place."

**Silence.**

_"Really_, Laxus?" Ever sneered. "You can do_ so_ much better than her."

"Just another notch in the belt, eh man?" Bickslow chuckled.

Freed cleared his throat, "Now, now. Let's not poke fun at him. He's a healthy male adult. Nothing out of the ordinary here."

"Will you guys _shut up_?" Laxus growled, his voice booming.

A few people looked up from their tables to stare at him with concerned looks on their faces, but he didn't take notice.

The Thunder Legion froze, their eyes wide in shock.

"It doesn't matter where I was last night or who I was with. Lucy did spend the night, but we left each other alone. And even if something_ did_ happen, it's my business and not yours."

It was silent again, as reality slowly hit his teammates.

"Of course", the rune-mage finally spoke. "My apologies."

"What kind of job do you want to take next?" Evergreen asked, changing the subject.

Bickslow rocked his head from side-to-side, his arms across his chest again, "Something with a wicked reward of course."

"Reward!" "Reward!"

A small smile peeked out from the corner of Laxus' mouth. He knew that his companions were just trying to look out for him. Everything they did or said was in his best interest, but sometimes they were a little too nosy for his liking, and he had to remind them of this. Then, like the good friends they were, the Thunder Legion would acknowledge their intrusive behaviour and would not press further into the subject. They were extremely loyal companions, and Laxus truly appreciated their "no ifs, ands, or buts" attitude when it came to respecting the privacy of his personal life.

"Pick out whatever you like, Ever", the dragon-slayer replied, stretching his arms behind his neck. "Doesn't matter to me."

Lucy continued to chat with Levy, but they stopped when a powerful voice reached out from the very back of the guild. "Gather around everyone, I have something I'd like to discuss with all of you!"

The guild, which had moments before been bustling with busy bodies, fell silent the moment they recognized the voice.

Everyone turned their attention to the stage as Master Makarov stepped up to the address them."I have just received a letter from a potential client that has very specific conditions."

People glanced around at each other, curiosity consuming them, but they all remained quiet as Makarov continued.

"This client is one of grave importance as I would prefer that Fairy Tail establish a positive relationship with them. However, not just _anyone_ can take the job."

Makarov paused for a moment to let his children digest his words. Whispers spread across the room as people pondered the notion.

"Although it is not an S class mission, the client has specifications as to whom can accept the request."

"What's the reward?" Wakaba shouted from the crowd. Several heads nodded in agreement.

The master cocked an eyebrow, "While I can't tell you an exact amount, I will tell you that it is _well_ worth your while."

The crowd broke into a light murmur as smiles spread across the faces of many.

Clearing his throat, Makarov continued, "But as I said, not just anyone can take this job. We'll have open nominations, but the ultimate decision will be mine."

Freed unsheathed the sword at his belt, raising it to the guild hall ceiling. "I would like to nominate Laxus!" he called out passionately.

"LAXUS!" his teammates cheered.

In a flash of colour, Evergreen whipped out her trademark hand fan, furiously flapping it around in celebration.

Bixlow had his arms folded across his chest in a stoic manner, but somehow he had twisted and contorted his tongue into the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Ahh, when it comes to their fearless leader, the Thunder Legion is as enthusiastic as ever", Levy said, sweat-dropping.

Lucy stifled a laugh as the trio started ritualistically frolicking around Laxus who leaned casually against the wall beside them.

Makarov raised his eyebrows, "I'll consider your suggestion. Does anyone else wish to make a nomination?"

**SLAM!**

At that moment, Natsu and Happy burst through the entrance doors, carelessly slamming them against the walls. They raced up to the front of the guild as a smear of pink and blue with a dust cloud trailing close behind.

Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Lisanna follow behind them at a normal human pace. She looked embarrassed as everyone stared at her, having turned their attention to the loud noise that had interrupted the announcement.

"I'll do it!" Natsu shouted excitedly. He was grinning from ear to ear, his fists balled up in flames.

Happy hovered beside his friend, raising his paw to draw attention to himself, "Master, I nominate Natsu!"

"Thanks buddy!"

Makarov peered down at the dragon-slayer from his pedestal, eyes narrowed. There was silence in the room; everyone waiting in anticipation as the guildmaster stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Finally, "Nope!"

Natsu abruptly fell backwards, but quickly recovered so he could argue otherwise, "What? Come on Gramps! Why not? I'm awesome!"

Happy frowned with disappointment.

"Because this particular job requires the assistance of _mature_ wizards, and unfortunately you don't fit the profile, my boy."

Natsu's jaw dropped at this very public rejection, he closed his mouth when he heard someone snicker behind him.

Whipping around, he saw a familiar face sneering at him.

"What are you laughing about, you filthy pervert", he snarled at Gray.

The ice make wizard's face changed very suddenly from amusement to one of a serious nature. "Master, I'd like to nominate myself", he spoke.

"Graaaay!" a Juvia squealed from afar.

Lucy chuckled at her obsessive nature and dedication to her half-naked friend.

"You're ignoring me?" the fire dragon-slayer hissed, his temper rising.

"As a mature candidate, who doesn't respond to pitiful insults from others, I would be honored to accept this request."

"Don't worry my love, you're more than qualified for this task!" Juvia cooed when she finally made her way through the crowd to be closer to him.

Gray groaned before dismissing her with the wave of his hand. Of course she didn't take notice and remained glued to the same spot at his side.

"Hmm, well then…" Master hummed to himself, scratching his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he stretched his arms out to make an "X" and barked, "Nope!"

Natsu burst into a fit of laughter, "Serves you right, Frosty!"

Gray's lip twitched in irritation, and he punched Natsu in the back of his head, "Shut up, you stupid Spitfire!"

And so started another guild fight, where everyone who was indirectly injured by the two culprits joined in on the brawl.

Makarov sighed, "Laxus it is then. Congratulations, my boy."

The dragon-slayer grinned and crossed his arms across his chest in satisfaction. Freed pat his friend on the shoulder and congratulated him, while the other two members of the Legion were somewhere in the cloud of bickering and punching guild members.

"I hadn't had a chance to pick out a second candidate. The customer specifically requested one male and one female wizard of a mature mindset to take part on this quest…" the small man muttered to himself.

He scanned the room to see a familiar weapon shoot past him from amongst the crowd, and he grumbled when he realized that Erza was in on the fight.

But then he noticed Lucy and Levy near the guild entrance. They were dragging Juvia by her coat in an attempt to prevent her from joining the fight that she felt so obligated to take part in.

"I'll protect you, my love! Wait for me!" she strained against the grip of the two girl's behind her, but hardly seemed to notice that they were there.

"Come on Juvia, it's not worth it!" the blonde whined.

"I need to protect him!" the water mage cried dramatically.

Makarov squinted seriously, looked to his right to see his grandson talking coolly to Freed, and made a decision right then and there.

"Lucy!" the old man hollered, pointing a brazen finger at the girl. "Congratulations, you've been selected as candidate number two!"

As quickly as the fight had started, it paused, everyone in the guild hall turning their heads to stare at the celestial mage.

"Whaaat?" "No fair!" "Why does she get to go?" Several complaints were heard amongst the crowd.

"Quiet! I'll not tolerate any objections at this time! You should all be ashamed of yourselves."

The faces of the guild-members involved dropped in embarrassment.

"As I mentioned before, this quest is specific to two _mature_ wizards, one male, one female, and nearly all of you just proved to me that you are not composed enough to take on such a task." His serious face melted into a congratulatory grin, "You've proven yourself worthy, Lucy. And I thank you for your participation."

Lucy's face twitched in surprise, "Participation?"

_I don't remember signing up for anything! Jeez…_

"You and Laxus will depart first thing tomorrow morning. If you'll follow me upstairs to my office, I'll pass on the details of the job."

"That's awesome, Lu!" Levy cheered, nudging her friend in the side. Before Lucy could respond, she felt a heavy weight on her left shoulder.

**CLUNK!**

It was Erza's armored hand. She had a warm smile on her face, and spoke, "My congratulations, Lucy. I know you'll do well on this job."

Lucy bit her lip to keep from laughing. Erza's normally beautiful sleek hair was puffed out in crazy streams of scarlet, and she couldn't help but think that Titania resembled a lion more so than a fairy.

"Thanks, Erza. But I really don't think I'm the best choice…" "Well, clearly Master Makarov feels differently on the matter."

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it", started Levy. "Besides, Laxus will be there to protect you should anything go wrong." She finished her sentence with a suggestive wink.

"That is all!" Makarov boomed. "Now get to work!" He gestured for Lucy and Laxus to follow him to his office.

* * *

"So what exactly does this job entail?" the blonde asked as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. She took a seat in the chair across from the master's massive wooden desk. Laxus casually leaned against the doorframe, his hulking figure nearly filling the doorway.

Makarov's mischievous smile stretched across his face. "Acting!"

Lucy's heart sank, memories of a previous job in theatre still haunted her to this day.

"Acting? Really, old man?" Laxus looked less than enthused, his eyelids drooping in disappointment.

"Now, now. Just listen to what I have to say", the Master grumbled. He put his hands up to silence them both so that he could continue to speak. "As I mentioned earlier, this particular job request is very specific to the clients."

Fidgeting in her seat, the celestial mage nodded quietly and swallowed as he went on further.

"It's my understanding that two very sophisticated young people are in need of assistance with regards to a tricky, somewhat problematic situation that would preferably be avoided at all costs."

"Okay…" the celestial mage breathed. "And…"

"And, that's all that I can tell you at this point in time", he finished, beaming.

Laxus and Lucy fell backwards in surprise. "That's it?" asked Laxus, clearly irritated by the lack of details given. "How are we supposed to know what we're up against, or what kind supplies we'll need if you won't tell us anything more?"

Lucy trembled with worry.

_This is weird._

"I'm sorry, my boy, but I've been given instructions not to delve further into the matter. You'll both be briefed upon arrival to your destination."

The dragon-slayer and the celestial mage glanced at each other, both bearing the same expression of uncertainty.

"How long is the job supposed to take?" Lucy asked politely.

"Best case scenario…" Makarov started, swaying his head from side-to-side. "A week or so."

Laxus snorted, "Well this should be interesting."

Lucy swallowed hard and felt her heartbeat quicken.

_A week alone with Laxus? What have I got myself into? _

"Oh, and you're to leave first thing tomorrow morning!", the master quickly added

_Grrreeeaaat._


	8. Chapter Eight

_**A/N: **Sorry readers! Somehow I managed to accidentally delete this chapter upon uploading Chapter 9. Anyways... Here it is again!_

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

"Okay", Lucy breathed, slapping her thighs with her hands in defeat. There was no point arguing with the Master once he'd made up his mind. "It'll be fine. We'll be fine. It's good", she assured herself out loud.

Laxus clicked his tongue and shook his head in amusement, "You're ridiculous."

Shrugging briefly, the celestial mage nodded in agreement.

_I won't disagree with that._

"Did I miss something?" a melodious voice hummed.

Startled, Lucy jumped when she saw first master Mavis' translucent body melt through the office walls.

Makarov cleared his throat and welcomed his predecessor, "Come in, the First! We were just discussing the unusual job request that Fairy Tail received earlier this week. I've assigned the task to Laxus and Lucy."

Mavis blinked a few times and then broke into a warm smile, "Well, you two are certainly_ more_ than capable of getting the job done! I couldn't have picked two better wizards myself."

With a nervous laugh, Lucy replied, "Y-yeah?"

The spirit grinned back at her, "Absolutely. I'm not concerned in the least."

"Well… Thank you, I guess…"

Makarov shifted in his seat and started to speak again, "Fine, fine. Now, out of respect for our clients, I ask that the two of you keep details about this mission to yourselves."

_Details? That'll be easy. I've learned practically nothing about the actual job._

"Of course", Lucy said promptly.

Laxus grunted in reply and Makarov continued, "Excellent. Lucy, you're excused." He glanced at the door to make eye contact with his grandson. "But Laxus, I'd like you to stay for a moment. There's something that we'd like to discuss with you privately."

His aged face was serious, hinting that the conversation to come was of an equally serious nature. Mavis kicked her bare feet back and forth while she sat on the corner of Makarov's desk, humming to herself.

As Lucy approached the barricaded doorframe, Laxus shifted to the side to make room for her.

"I won't be long", he muttered as she brushed past him.

"Okay."

The blonde headed down the stairs to the first floor, completely dumfounded by her current predicament.

_Why me? I don't get it… I can't even act!_

She wandered over to the table where she and Levy sat earlier and saw that all of her teammates had gathered there too. As she took a seat between Wendy and Erza, she immediately noticed the dramatic clouds looming over Natsu and Gray who sulked, silently fuming for having been rejected for the same job that Lucy had been so easily handed.

"Cheer up, guys", Levy chuckled. "Maybe next time you'll get your chance."

Both mages grumbled nonsense and continued to pout at either end of the table.

Happy flew over to the blonde from the other side of the table where he was sitting with Natsu.

"Lucy!" he called out cheerfully, plunging head first into her cleavage.

"Hey there", she greeted, scratching the cat behind the ear.

"You're going to make sooooo much money on this job! Will you bring me back a big juicy fish? Pretty please?" He stared up at her with big, watery eyes and a quivering lip; a manipulative technique that Lucy had quickly become immune to. This time, however, she was feeling generous. She was about to embark on a mystery job that may or may not entail dangers unknown… What did she have to lose?

Brushing a hand through her hair, Lucy replied uncertainly, "If I actually make it back here** alive**? Sure, I'll buy you a fish."

Happy's ears dropped and he jumped down from her chest to wander back to Natsu. "Guess I shouldn't get my hopes up…" he sighed heavily.

"And that's the vote of confidence I was looking for", the blonde muttered sarcastically, her lip curling in annoyance. "Say goodbye to that fish."

In that moment, to illustrate her disapproval, Erza got up from her seat to reach across the table and flick the blue cat on the back of his head.

**THWHACK!**

The power in Titania's finger and thumb sent Happy's entire body flying across the table and right into Natsu's face, knocking them both out in the process. On the floor, they twitched, having been completely stunned on impact.

"That was_ very_ insensitive, Happy", the redhead scolded, shaking her head in disappointment.

Like a sudden storm, pure unaltered terror swept across the faces of Levy, Wendy and Lucy, while Erza, Carla and Gray remained unfazed by her actions.

"Aye…" Happy groaned from the floor just a moment before passing out.

"Lucy will do just fine on this job. Besides, she needn't worry. She has Laxus as a partner, after all", the Erza finally added as she sat back down next to Lucy. The blonde still trembled in shock, but tried her best to compose herself.

"Yes, all things considered, you're lucky to have an S class wizard for a partner", Carla chided in. She was sitting on Wendy's lap with her arms resting on her lap. "You really couldn't ask for a better shield."

Wendy's face dropped in both horror and embarrassment at her companion's tactless comment. In one swift movement, she clasped a hand over Carla's mouth to silence her.

"Be nice!" she hissed. "Or you'll end up like Happy!" She narrowed her eyes, intently watching for Erza's next move, but Titania was stoic and unreadable.

The white cat grabbed Wendy's hand with both paws and pulled it down to her chin so that she could speak, "Relax. I wasn't being serious, child." She turned her head up to look at the dragon-slayer, "I'm just trying to cheer the girl up." Carla then glanced to the side, smiling sympathetically at Lucy who looked like she was going to be sick with anxiety. "Mavis knows she could use a good laugh."

"I guess…" Wendy mumbled uncertainly, her gaze still fixed on Erza.

Lucy cracked a weak smile and sweat-dropped, "Thanks for trying, Carla."

_At least one cat is rooting for me._

"The way you talked about it earlier... Is it a dangerous job, Lu?" asked Levy, who leaned forward towards Lucy in anticipation for her reply.

_Master told me not to talk about the job to anyone. Not that there's much information to share… _

"I don't know."

Levy cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Lucy heaved a sigh and continued, "I mean Master Makarov told me absolutely nothing about the mission, except that it could take up to two weeks to complete. And I leave tomorrow morning. So, you guys basically know just as much as I do."

The bluenette frowned in disappointment and slumped back into her seat.

"That's rather strange, don't you think?" said Wendy, brows furrowed. "If it were any other job, you'd be given information almost immediately after accepting it."

"Yes. It_ is_ unusual…" pondered Erza.

"But this isn't just any other job", a deeper voice interrupted. Everyone turned their attention to the far end of the table to see that Gray had joined the conversation. His arms were folded across his chest, and his eyes remained closed in annoyance. "Isn't it obvious? Makarov has very specific plans for you and Laxus. This job must include tasks that only the _two of you_ can take on. Why else would he be so choosy about who should accept the request?"

Levy stared into space thoughtfully and hummed, "He has a point." She then proceeded to reach across the table and gently squeeze Lucy's hand in reassurance. "I wouldn't worry about it, Lu. I'm sure the Master has everything planned out accordingly. You'll just have to trust him."

Lucy dropped her head slightly and nodded.

The petite bluenette then got up from her seat to walk over to her. She pulled the blonde into a hug and whispered in her ear so that only she could hear, "And you'll have to trust Laxus."

Cheeks aglow, Lucy started to get flustered and shy.

Levy pulled away and winked at her, "I've got to go meet Jet and Droy downtown now. So, have a good trip! I'll see you when you get back, okay?"

"Bye…" the blonde said quietly, waving goodbye to her friend.

Her hands resting on Carla's shoulders, Wendy playfully bumped Lucy in the side. The celestial mage looked down at her in surprise. The dragon-slayer beamed, "Everything will turn out alright."

Carla was smiling too, her eyes bright with optimism.

Lucy relaxed her shoulders and couldn't help but smile at Wendy's confidence in the matter. She gently placed a hand on the dragon-slayers head, "Yeah. Thanks, kiddo."

"You should probably start packing, Lucy", Erza suddenly suggested. "Since you don't know what kind of job you'll be taking, it would be wise to pack an assortment of clothing and supplies. You never know what sort of obstacles you'll have to face."

"Good idea", replied the celestial mage appreciatively. "I'll go home and pack once I've had breakfast."

"Aww, man!" they heard someone groan. They all looked to where Natsu had once been sitting to see a wild tuft of pink hair creep up from the floor. "That _hurt,_ Erza!"

He cracked his neck to limber up before jumping into his seat again. Happy remained on the floor, unconscious.

When he saw that he was being stared at, Natsu started to ask an abundance of questions that couldn't be answered, "So what happened? What kind of job is it, Lucy? And where is it? Is the reward any good? When do you guys leave? Oh! Bring me back a souvenir? "

Lucy's eyebrow twitched irritably and she felt the anxiety once again start to build up inside her.

Erza casually reached across the table to promptly punch Natsu in the head and knock him out, but this time on purpose. "Sleep some more", she stated flatly.

Wendy and Lucy chuckled nervously, slowly inching themselves away from Titania without her noticing. Gray had an arrogant smile on his face, but he said absolutely nothing. He was well aware that if he picked a fight with the dragon-slayer, or poked fun at him in any way, Erza would knock him out too.

As Lucy glanced past the redhead's shoulder, she saw Laxus start down the stairs from the second floor office.

"Gotta go, guys. Wish me luck!" she chortled, grabbing her shoes from the floor.

"Good luck! See you in a few weeks!" Wendy called from behind her.

Lucy raised a hand to acknowledge the girl as she wandered in the general direction of the lightning dragon-slayer.

When she met up with Laxus, he greeted her simply, "Hey."

"Hi."

They started towards the bar counter on instinct. "So…" she started to mumble.

"So… Breakfast?" he finished for her, grinning. "Thought I'd forgotten, did you?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "That wasn't what I was going to say. But, now that you mention it, breakfast sounds delightful."

_Oh my God, he can read minds._

Laxus smirked, pulling a stool out for her before grabbing a seat for himself. "Order whatever you like, Blondie."

"Oh I intend to", Lucy chuckled, rubbing her hands together greedily.

His chiseled face melted into a mock expression of terror when at that moment Mirajane waltzed over to them from behind the counter.

"Good morning, you two! Did you have fun last night?" She was smiling warmly.

"Oh yeah, _loads_ of fun", the blonde woman exaggerated. "Say, can I have a—"

"-chocolate banana smoothie?" the takeover mage interrupted.

_Jesus. She can read minds too._

"You know me too well!" the celestial mage said, snapping her fingers in amazement.

"Ohhh, _big spender_", the dragon-slayer teased.

Lucy briefly stuck her tongue out at him before turning her attention back to Mira.

"Thanks, Mirajane."

The platinum blonde nodded, "And what are you having today, Laxus?"

He scratched his cheek uncertainly before making a solid decision, "I'll have the number four today."

"Number four it is! Coming right up!"

When Mirajane walked away, the dragon-slayer turned to Lucy, "So what did you_ really_ want to talk about?"

_Hmm? _

Lucy stared up at him blankly. "Uh…"

_What the heck should I say?_

"I just wanted to tell you to bring warm clothes for cold weather, and cool clothes for warm weather. You can never be too prepared! Especially on a job like this!"

He looked at her with bored, unconvinced eyes, "Yeah… You don't need to worry about packing for cold weather. Not this time."

_This time?_

Then she suddenly clued in, "Right! Master told you more about the job request after I left, didn't he? Including where we're going. Somewhere hot, I hope. Care to share?"

Laxus closed his eyes and shook his head, "Nope. Can't do it. You'll find out soon."

The blonde pouted before slumping onto the countertop in exasperation. She buried her face into her arms and groaned.

_This whole not knowing anything is going to be the death of me._

Lucy sat up quickly when she heard a heavy dish hit the counter's surface.

_That was fast!_

"Here you go", Mirajane said as she handed Lucy her smoothie.

"Holy crap!" she graciously accept the glass from Mira, but was too distracted to take her eyes of the enormous plate beside her. She'd forgotten about his voracious dragon-slayer appetite.

"I'd explode if I consumed that much food in one go! You're _nuts_!"

Laxus didn't respond to Lucy's comment and instead thanked takeover mage for taking their order before placing a handful of jewels into her hand.

"Anytime!" the barmaid chortled as she left them to tend to other hungry guild members.

When she inspected the dish, Lucy noticed that everything from the number seven meal was in the number four meal; eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, and a croissant.

"I don't get it", she mumbled. "It all looks the same as last time. So why is it called the number four meal?"

The dragon-slayer's eyes widened in astonishment, "_Woah_, don't go dissing my number four! Actually, it's _not_ the same as the number seven." He pointed to a peach coloured melon nestled between the sausage and the waffles. "_Canteloupe!"_

Lucy snorted, "Oh, _right._ Sorry about that. I don't know how I could possibly mistake the two." She sipped her smoothie to hide the grin on her face.

_What a dork._

When Laxus started to eat, the celestial mage decided that she would take Erza's advice and head home to pack.

"I'm going to home and get ready for tomorrow", she started as she slipped off the stool. "Where do you want to meet in the morning, and when?"

Laxus paused to swallow before speaking, "At the harbour. Six thirty. Don't be late!"

"I won't", she replied. "Thanks for breakfast. I'll see you in the AM."

As she bade him farewell, he had already stuffed massive forkful of food in his mouth and was forced to awkwardly smile at her with his cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

"Seeehhrroo", he muttered unintelligibly.

Lucy clasped a hand to her mouth and turned her back to the man as to keep from laughing at his face. She waved goodbye to Wendy and the others again as she headed out the guild hall, but not before noticing that Happy and Natsu were now fully conscious. They appeared to be bickering with each other, and loudly at that; probably over something silly like cheese or nosebleeds.

She giggled quietly.

_Man, I love this guild._


	9. Chapter Nine

_**A/N: **Hey guys and gals! _

_FINALLY, I have the next chapter! Originally, I had around 8, 000 words, but then I decided to use that chunk for a different chapter later on... So, unfortunately this isn't a huge chapter, but I'm so pleased to finally update! Oh, and you might want to re-read Chapter 8 (just to remind you what happened earlier...). I'm not able to go back to Chapter 7 to update anymore, but I've decided that their mission will take around 2 weeks, instead of just one week. Just so everything makes sense! Pretty please read and review! I really want to know what you guys think of the latest chapter! Thanks for your patience. :)_

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

After making a quick stop at the local market for some food to stock her fridge and cupboards, Lucy took plenty of time walking home with both arms full of groceries, and down a safer route no less.

When she got back to her apartment, she immediately started running the hot water in her bathtub.

_Man, I feel like a total grub._

She pulled off her party dress, tossing it on the floor and stripping out of the lacy black underwear that Virgo had dressed her in.

Her cheeks flushed instantly as the memory of the Lucy-Laxus underwear episode resurfaced from the depths of her unconscious.

With haste, she climbed into the tub and held her breath before sliding under the water to wet her hair.

_He's so… hot. Wish I'd been prepared for that fiasco. Then I could have at least fixed my hair up or something..._

Small bubbles began escaping her lips as she started to get worked up.

_What has gotten into me? This is LAXUS DREYER._

She broke the surface, exhaling as she rested her back against the bathtub frame.

After bathing, dressing, and brushing her teeth, Lucy pulled a large turquoise backpack out from the corner of her closet and started filling it with the random contents of her dresser drawers; that is, enough clothing to last her for the long journey ahead.

Feeling satisfied that she'd packed more than sufficiently, the blonde spent the rest of the day distracting herself from the stress of the upcoming mission by any means necessary. She cleaned her apartment from top to bottom, organized all the cupboards and shelves in the apartment and she even wrote a new chapter for her novel-in-progress.

* * *

At around ten o' clock in the evening, Lucy had exhausted all of her remaining energy. She moved her backpack to the table, climbed into bed and closed her eyes to ready herself for sleep.

_I'm officially exhausted. The last two days have just drained me. And tomorrow I'm going on a two-week job with Fairy Tail's own walking, talking lightning rod._

She pulled the blankets closer to her face, as butterflies started to flutter in her stomach.

_I'm definitely nervous about all of this… Whether I'm nervous about the job or because I'm paired up with a sexy man beast remains to be determined._

She laughed out loud to her out-of-character thought process and finally closed her eyes. Then, with the moonlight filtering through the window and onto her porcelain face, Lucy's breathing evened out as she drifted into sleep.

* * *

**BEEP BEEP BEEP!**

The blonde flinched when her alarm sounded at six in the morning, so she blindly smacked her hand around the night stand until she found the "off" button.

When she found it, Lucy revelled in the silence and heaved a sigh. "Guess it's time to get up."

Groaning, she got to her feet to change into a pair of jean shorts and a plain pink t-shirt.

After she'd cleaned up Lucy slipped on a pair of knee-high boots and locked her apartment door behind her. She slowly crept down the stairs to the front entrance and relaxed her shoulders when she heard the landlady snoring loudly at the end of the hall.

"Lucky me", she whispered in relief, having avoided another uncomfortable conversation with the strange old woman.

Outside, she stretched her arms out before pulling her hair up into her signature style and setting off to the docks to meet Laxus.

It was still quite early in the morning and the sky remained dark but for the faintest of morning light peeking out from behind the surrounding mountains. Lucy shivered slightly when cool dawn air brushed against her skin and she wondered if it was a mistake to leave her jacket at home.

_It's too late now. Hopefully it'll warm up once the sun is up._

* * *

When she neared the docks she could see her newfound partner with his arms resting on the railing to bear his weight. The dragon-slayer was dressed in black pants tucked into big gray army boots, and he wore a white jacket with a beige cloak pulled over top.

Lucy chuckled quietly, noting the lack of emotion on his face.

_He always looks so blasé._

The dragon-slayer was gazing out at the ocean before him, his cloak lightly fluttering in the salty sea breeze.

"Hi there", she greeted, waving at him in a friendly manner.

He looked over at her, sliding his headphones from his head and onto his shoulders to talk to her. "Hey", he replied coolly.

_Well, well, it appears he's all manners today. _

"You ready to head out?" the man asked.

Lucy shrugged, "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright, let's go. Our train leaves Onibus Station in ten minutes", said Laxus. He turned away from Lucy and beckoned for her to come closer to him.

"Ten minutes?" she repeated, slightly put-off. "But Onibus is like a two hour walk from here."

The dragon-slayer smirked, "Then I guess it's a good thing we're not walking." And in one swift movement he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders to pull her in close to him.

**BOOM!**

When she felt solid ground beneath her feet, Lucy opened her eyes to see an array of tiny stars; the brightness of Laxus' lightning having temporarily blinded her.

Then the warmth from the dragon-slayer's arm against her neck brought some sense back to her and she smacked him away in annoyance, "I can't stand that!"

"I know. You told me the night of the party."

The woman placed a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "Did I?"

He nodded.

"And it didn't occur to you that it might be a nice gesture travel by foot instead of by... lightning?"

Laxus tilted his head from side to side as if debating how he really felt, but then he smirked and replied, "Not really, no."

Lucy scowled at him while she adjusted the straps of her backpack and waited impatiently for her vision to return to normal.

"Here's your ticket", the man spoke, holding a small piece of paper to her face. "Time to go."

He slapped her bag, knocking the woman slightly off balance and started towards one of the shorter locomotives at the station.

As she followed her partner towards their ride, Lucy noticed that there were very few people out and about this early in the morning. There was an elderly man sitting on a bench near the ticket booth, and a woman hugging what must have been her adult son as he bade her farewell.

_I didn't even know trains operated this early in the morning. _

"This is us", said Laxus gesturing to one of the idle trains.

She nodded and followed him through the passenger door. The train conductor greeted them at the entrance and punched their tickets before asking them them to find a seat to their liking.

Laxus was the first to sit down, his back to the front of the train, so Lucy sat across from him, tossing her bag on the empty seat beside her.

A few minutes of silence passed as the two wizards waited for the train to warm up for departure. It was awkward, and when Lucy heard the whistle blow, she sighed in relief.

_Finally. Let's get this trip over with!_

She adjusted her posture as the train lurched forwards, quickly moving into a more comfortable position. Looking over at her partner from the corner of her eye, she saw that his expression was once again unreadable.

* * *

After about half an hour of silence between the two, Lucy started to let her thoughts wander...

_I had always thought his stoic demeanor was just for show, but I guess Laxus really isn't much of a talker. He hasn't spoken to me since we left the station. Maybe I should say something._

"So…" she started, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. "I know I'm not supposed to know anything about the mission itself, but can you at least tell me how long we're going to be on the train?"

No reply.

_What the hell? Is he pissed off or something?_

"Um, Laxus?" Lucy asked cautiously, leaning towards him.

Once again, no response. He just continued to stare out of the compartment window, his eyes dull and lifeless.

_Maybe he's ignoring me. Or maybe he's one of those people that sleeps with their eyes open (which is totally creepy in itself…)_

She leaned forward in her seat, stretching her hand out to wave in front of his face. Still, not so much as a flinch in response.

Lucy recoiled and folded her arms across her chest in annoyance.

_What's his problem?_

Finally, she leapt across to the seat beside him, still careful to keep her distance from the man who was stone cold. She stretched her arm out again to gently poke Laxus in his shoulder.

_NICE muscle tone… _

**POKE.**

Lucy felt him tense slightly and watched triumphantly as he started to slowly turn his head towards her.

She was smirking, but her expression turned to one of disgust when she saw the all-to-familiar look of nausea across the dragon-slayer's face.

"Seriously?!" she barked, jumping back to her seat in one move. "Motion sickness?"

Laxus groaned in reply and leaned forward, clutching at his stomach.

"Woah! Point that thing away from me", the blonde grimaced, pulling all of her limbs closer to her body. "The last thing I need is for someone to… puke on me..."

_Like I puked on him the night before last._

She felt guilty for a moment, but when she saw that Laxus was focused on his upset stomach she relaxed a little and sighed. Pulling her backpack onto her lap, Lucy rifled through its contents to pull out a small oval bottle containing an orange bead-like substance.

Tilting the bottle, she emptied two of the beads into her palm and handed them to the man across from her. "Here", she offered. "These will help."

Laxus lifted his head up, his face now a sickly shade of green. He eyed the beads questionably, but accepted them from her none-the-less.

It was unnerving to watch this giant of a man dry-heaving as he struggled to swallow the beads.

After a minute or so, Lucy saw Laxus' colour return to normal and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow", he breathed. "Those really work! What are they?"

"They're a unique kind of medicinal plant, dried up, and condensed into little balls." She handed him the jar to look at.

He scratched the back of his head as he examined the bottle. "Where did you get them from? These would sure come in handy for... some people."

_And by 'some people', you mean you?_

Lucy chuckled, "I made them myself."

He stared over at her, wide-eyed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Since travelling via vehicle has become a real problem with Natsu, and since Wendy's troya spell has lost its effectiveness over time, I decided to take things into my own hands."

"How did you know what to do?"

"One of my spirits, Crux-a living encyclopedia-guided me through the process. It's really quite simple once you know what you're doing."

"Hmm. Colour me impressed."

_Was that a compliment?_

"You sound surprised", the celestial mage cracked.

"Well, it's just that you don't look like the sort of person that's into books or whatever."

Lucy crossed her legs and leaned back in her seat. "I'm more than just a pretty face, you know", she said, sticking her tongue out teasingly.

Laxus laughed, "Apparently." He took a deep breath in before continuing, "Anyways, I don't normally get sick like that. I think I must have ate something funky."

"You're lying", Lucy replied, her eyebrows raised skeptically.

"Excuse me?"

"You're a dragon-slayer. Motion sickness is exclusive to your breed. Don't bother denying it."

"Maybe. But like I said, it's not normally that bad, so—

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me", she replied, holding a finger to her lips to silence him.

"Thanks", he grunted, turning away from her again.

Lucy swore she saw the man's cheeks turn the faintest of pinks, but deduced that it must have been the reflection from the window. After all…

_A guy like that doesn't get embarrassed._

"Anyways…" he started, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "How are things?"

"Really?" Lucy snorted. "Why would someone like_ you_ care how things are with someone like _me_?"

"Look, I'm just trying to have a conversation with you", he muttered, his voice riddled with annoyance. "I don't really know how to start these kinds of things."

"I'm sorry", she said, smiling sympathetically. "Things are okay. Thanks for asking."

Avoiding eye contact, Laxus continued, "Just okay? Why aren't things… uh... great?"

_Well if this isn't a painful experience, I don't know what is. _

She was quiet for a moment as she pondered to herself. From the corner of his eye, he watched her expression grow serious and when her heart rate quickened he came to a simple conclusion.

"You're worried about the job", the man stated flatly.

"Of course I am! I've never taken on a job that I know_ nothing_ about!" she spat.

Clearly she had been holding these feelings in for quite some time.

The dragon-slayer cracked a smile, "Relax. You've got nothing to worry about. After all, you've got me with you." He gestured to himself with his thumb and grinned.

"Uh huh…" Lucy started shakily. "That part worries me too."

That got his attention; his gaze shifted to her the moment the words escaped her mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" There was a note of surprise in his voice.

She looked up at him and sighed, "I mean I hardly know anything about you. We're practically strangers, and now I'm supposed to spend two weeks alone with you?" She scoffed and shook her head. "A girl with any sense at all would feel the exact same way I do right now."

Laxus' lips parted for a moment as he slowly digested her words, and the celestial mage turned to stare at her feet.

Though her eyes were looking elsewhere, she could feel his gaze boring down on her.

The man cleared his throat, clearly a little put-off, "As memory serves, I'm the guy that saved you. Remember that?"

"I remember", she started as she began shifting her feet about uncomfortably. "And I'm very thankful for your assistance, but the fact still remains… We're strangers."

Pondering to himself, the dragon-slayer shrugged, "I guess so. But I think we're a little more than that at this point…"

Lucy finally turned to look up at him with her eyebrow cocked, "Oh?"

An arrogant smirk played at the corners of his mouth, "I mean, how many 'strangers' see each other half-naked these days?"

_Wow._

Lucy clucked her tongue in disbelief. "I don't know, you're the ladies' man. You tell me", she quipped.

"A ladies' man?" Laxus snorted, wrinkling his nose. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Oh, you know… Just some people", the woman replied, tight lipped. She was not about to go into details, and tapped her foot impatiently.

_Is he really that oblivious? Every Magnolian and his sister knows about this guy's hump-and-dump routine with women._

He shifted in his seat, grumbling to himself, but he did not delve further into the matter, much to Lucy's relief.

It was quiet between the two of them for at least another hour as they pressed on towards their destination.

_So much for that conversation…_

Suddenly the train braked, sending Lucy tumbling out of her seat and head first into Laxus' lap.

"Mmmfhh!" she shrieked, her voice muffled.

Lucy forced herself away from him, using his thighs to brace her weight as she got back to her feet. "Oh my God! I am SO sorry!"

Her face was hot with embarrassment. Legs shaky, she gauged him for any sort of response but the lights went out before she could make a proper analysis.

"What the-"

"Stay down", Laxus ordered, grabbing Lucy suddenly and pressing her gently to the floor. He was crouched over her, and she blushed even more when she saw how close their bodies were to one another. The warmth of his flesh against her own sent a shiver down her spine.

_Sweet Jesus, what's going on?_

Lucy nodded, and followed instruction without question.

Jaw clenched, he listened around them with his exceptional dragon hearing.

The train started to shake violently, starting from either end of the carriage and working towards the couple like rippling waves.

"What's is it?" she whispered, heart pounding against her ribcage.

Laxus' blue eyes narrowed, and she thought she heard a growl rumble from deep in his chest, "We've got company."

_Perfect!_

It was strange; a part of Lucy was frightened, to be sure, but she was also excited. She had been waiting for an opportunity to put her solo training to the test. This was her chance to prove to Laxus that she really wasn't just a damsel in distress. Her run-in with those thugs was just one of those 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' situations. Under normal circumstances, Lucy was more than capable of taking care of herself_, _and she was more than ready to demonstrate.


	10. SUPER ANNOUNCMENT!

Hello everyone!

I appreciate all your comments and/or reviews. It means the world to me that you guys actually enjoy my writing!

HOWEVER… I've decided to repost this story on another link. There will be a name change, and also some serious editing in the chapters (one through nine), because I am just not satisfied with the inconsistencies in my story. Yes, I'm a very picky writer (haha), but after reading through it again I've picked up on some things that I want to change.

And so I'm working on the re-write right now (as well as the long awaited chapter ten). Once I've posted the new version of this story (don't worry, the basic structure will all be the same! Just a few changes here and there), I'll let you know what the title is, and you can check it out for yourselves.

Thanks again for all of your support and I hope to see you all on the new story page!

* * *

_**UPDATE!: The new story is posted with the title "A Path To Call My Own." I've only just posted the first chapter again (of course a newly refined version... haha). But I'll be sure to update with the other chapters and chapter ten ASAP!**_


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